CALLAWAY -- County officials stressed Monday that animal control officers will respond to dog bites in a timely manner.
On Sunday a teenager was bitten by a German shepherd / doberman mix breed and was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. After speaking with the dog’s owner by phone and confirming that the animal was quarantined an animal control officer declined to go to the scene Sunday night, choosing instead to schedule a visit for Monday.
Under the interlocal agreement between the county and several local cities animal control officers are required to go to the scene of a bite if someone is attacked and the animal is still roaming the area uncontrolled.
County spokeswoman Valerie Sale said animal control officials honored the letter of the law but missed the spirit of the agreement. Things will be different in the future, she added.
“In almost all cases we will send out an animal control officer for bites,” she said. “We should have gone out in this instance.”
According to an incident report the teenager repeatedly shoved the dog in the head until it bit. The teen was taken to a local hospital, treated and released. The owner chose to give the dog to animal control officials. Under animal control policy a dog involved in a bite case cannot be adopted and will be destroyed after a 10 day quarantine period.