LIMESTONE CO., Ala. (WAFF) – A community is shaken after a dog attack Wednesday that sent 36-year-old Michael Haney to the hospital. Limestone County Commissioner Daryl Sammet was heartbroken to hear about the attack in his district.
“I feel for both families, I hope everybody does okay with it,” Sammet said.
This hasn’t been the only dog attack in the valley this year. In March, a two-year-old was killed in a dog attack in Madison County. Then in June 83-year-old Willard Norton was mauled to death by two dogs while tending to his garden in Lawrence County.
But Commissioner Sammet said it’s the first he can remember an attack like this in Limestone County in a long time. He attributes this attack to pet owners being stuck in their old ways.
“We’re going from cotton fields to roofs,” Sammet said. “What used to be free range for animals, it’s closing down on them now.”
Limestone County has a leash law, but many counties around the state still don’t. That’s why animal rights advocates are pushing for legislation at the state level.
“I think a lot of it’s due to the public, people are paying more attention and wanting to see these things fixed,” Chapel King said.
King said not only leashing dogs but correctly leashing them is critical.
“If people would tether the right way and not have such a short lead on them, things would be different,” King said. “That tends to make dogs more aggressive and that’s what we’re going to try and tackle at the state level.”
The bill sponsored by Representative Phillip Ensler not only requires dogs to be kept inside a fence, on a leash, or in a safe enclosure; It also aims to stop dogs from being trained to hunt, leaving the bill open to major opposition.
“We’ve been fighting these laws in Montgomery for years trying to get these changes, and we’ve had a hard time doing it,” King said. “I think we’re at the point where we’re just going to go for it all.”
The bill is set to be introduced at the next legislative session.
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