‘This is just a tragedy’: Morgan County Animal Control warns residents of aggressive dogs | News

Many Morgan County residents were both heartbroken as well as concerned after hearing about the four year old Hartselle boy who lost his life to a dog attack Monday. 

The Morgan County Sheriff's Office confirmed the dog was an Olde English Bulldog who belonged to the Clark family's neighbors. 

That dog was put down by an officer at the scene.  

WAAY 31 spoke with Morgan County Animal Control following the tragic death. 

The director Darren Tucker says they received no prior reports for the bulldog. 

The dog’s body spent the night at animal control before being sent to forensics for rabies testing. 

Tucker believes the dog was on its own property at the time of the attack as they discovered the neighbors property had an underground fence for their dog. 

Tucker says their office receives countless calls for dog bites and dog attacks every month in the Morgan county area.

But in the seven years in his position, he has never seen a life lost over a dog attack.

“This is just a tragedy once a child was involved,” Tucker continued, “there’s just a lot of people hurting right now in that community,” Tucker said. 

Tucker was only able to recall a few dog attacks in the entire state that resulted in a death.   

He says people bring aggressive dogs into the shelter quite often.

“There's just some dogs that you need to be very cautious about before you make it a pet and bring it into your home,” Tucker said.

But as people continue to move to North Alabama, Tucker says many bring their pets creating an influx of animals. 

Tucker says even if you think your dog wouldn’t be capable of taking someone’s life, he says instincts can kick in and take over at the worst time. 

“A lot of times there are things that will trigger an animal such as food aggression, like I said dog aggressive, child aggressive, anything,” Tucker continued, “sometimes you know a dog will just snap you know they’re unpredictable,” Tucker said. 

Tucker wishes the Monday night incident never happened, but he hopes this tragedy has heightened people's awareness of their own pets and those around them. 

Tucker says everyone in Morgan County should be aware of the leash law which says every person in charge of a dog should keep it confined to one's property or on a leash. 

“Nobody should have to be held hostage on their own property by someone else’s animal,” Tucker continued, “we see that so often that an elderly person can’t go to their mailbox or get their newspaper because they are in fear of their neighbor's dog because it’ll bite,” Tucker said. 

A violation of the leash law means a $50 fine but Tucker says it should be more. 

He believes the law should include a preventative measure to more strictly punish reoffending dogs and their owners.

As we head into the warmer months Tucker says people should be prepared when spending time outside. 

If an unknown dog approaches you, Tucker says to try and put something between you and the dog. 

He says using anything with a loud noise to spook the dog may help it leave the area. 

He recommends if anyone in Morgan County sees any aggressive animals they should report it to his office.