ORMOND-BY-THE-SEA, Fla. — Neighbors on Seacrest Drive in Ormond By The Sea claim they’ve been terrorized by two loose dogs for months. Ring doorbell camera video shared with only Channel 9 shows the dogs lunge at a homeowner and bite his dog.
“I heard all this commotion outside and I open the door and here’s these 2 big dogs trying to attack I guess our dog but if my husband had fallen or something, who knows they could have gone after him,” said Patti Schoenwetter.
Patti Schoenwetter shared the video with us from the couple’s ring doorbell camera. She’s one of several neighbors on the street who has had a run in with the dogs.
“A few days ago they just went through a neighbors screened in door,” said Schoenwetter.
An Animal Services spokesperson told us they’ve stepped up patrols in the area and that the dogs’ owner has received multiple citations for not keeping the dogs restrained on their property. However, Animal Services also said state law prevents the county from taking any more action because the dogs had to have aggressively bitten or attacked a person without provocation, caused severe injury, killed or seriously injured another animal off the owner’s property more than once, or approached a person in a menacing manner that poses a threat.
One year ago this week, 8-year-old Michael Millett was mauled to death by 2 dogs in his DeLand neighborhood. We traveled to Tallahassee with his family as they pushed for changes in dangerous dog laws.
Their efforts led to new liability insurance requirements, increased fines, and clarified procedures for impounding dogs during investigations.
Schoenwetter said that’s not enough and believes more should be done before someone gets seriously hurt.
“Until something like that happens they’re not deemed dangerous dogs,” said Schoenwetter.
The Sheriff’s Office has also responded to 6 animal related calls on that street in the last 6 months but can’t say for sure each one has been related to those specific dogs.
The county has confirmed in this case, the dogs’ owner is temporarily away but said a relative is caring for them.
Here is the full response we received on the issue.
As part of that response, Animal Services increased patrols in the neighborhood and obtained affidavits from two residents that support the issuance of multiple citations. The owner received citations for failing to properly restrain the dogs on their property, failing to provide vaccination records, and failing to have the animals sterilized.
Volusia County Animal Services is bound by Florida Law to follow a specific investigative process before a dog can be potentially classified as dangerous or impounded. Under Florida law, a dog may be deemed dangerous if it (1) has aggressively bitten or attacked a person without provocation, (2) caused severe injury, (3) killed or seriously injured another animal off the owner’s property on more than one occasion, or (4) approached a person in a menacing manner that poses a threat to public safety.
In the case of the incident in question, none of the State’s criteria have been met that would allow Volusia County Animal Services to legally take the dogs into custody or deem them dangerous.
Animal Services has increased patrols in the area so officers can respond quickly if the dogs are observed running loose and will follow up to confirm whether the dogs have been vaccinated and sterilized, as required.
Residents who have concerns about potentially dangerous animals are encouraged to contact Volusia County dispatch at 386-248-1777 so Animal Services can respond. Under state law, anonymous complaints cannot be investigated or followed up on, so callers are encouraged to provide their contact information when reporting an incident.
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