Dog killed after attack

A San Mateo woman is questioning why a pit bull who practically killed her 12-year-old whippet in downtown San Mateo’s Central Park is being allowing back on the streets.

It was a sunny Sunday afternoon when Joan Silvers took Ragtime, her 12-year-old whippet, for a walk in the park across from her Laurel Street home. Silvers was walking Ragtime out of the park at approximately 1 p.m. when a pit bull ran up and attacked her dog. Silvers was thrown to the ground as the pit bull attacked her dog, she said.

"I was on the ground screaming for help. One more minute and my dog’s leg would have been ripped off,” Silvers said.

Others came to her rescue. Her husband was called to the scene and the two immediately rushed Ragtime to an emergency animal hospital. Meanwhile the pit bull was located and so was its owner.

At the hospital, Silvers was forced to make a painful decision to put her dog to sleep.

After the terrifying experience, Silvers was shocked to learn the Peninsula Humane Society issued the dog owner a dangerous animal permit and will be allowed to walk his pet on a leash and with certain limitations.

The Peninsula Humane Society has the authority to label a dog vicious and suggest it be euthanized. It, however, opted for a less severe penalty that allows the dog back on the streets. It’s a decision that has Silvers questioning the law and whether the park is safe for others.

The PHS essentially did not label the dog vicious because it did not actually kill the other dog, said PHS spokesman Scott Delucchi.

If a dog is labeled vicious, the owner of that dog is entitled to a hearing in front of a county-hired officer. There have been no cases in which a hearing officer has upheld a vicious dog determination when that dog did not actually kill another animal, Delucchi said.

"Sadly dogs are property, legally. The owners can treat it as a civil matter,” Delucchi said.

That means Silver can choose to file a lawsuit against the other dog owner in hopes of recouping medical costs.

"That’s a very fine line. I have to wait there for him to kill my dog before [the other dog] is declared vicious,” Silvers said.

The other dog owner will be forced to always leash his dog, not take it to dog parks, post a sign at his yard and will be required to register his dog as vicious if he ever relocates to another county, Delucchi said.

The PHS had no previous contact with either Silvers or the pit bull owner.

Dana Yates can be reached by e-mail: dana@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 106.