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CC MINS 19971118 Dog Hearing MINUTES REGULAR MEETING RANCHO PALOS VERDES CITY COUNCIL NOVEMBER 18, 1997 The meeting was called to order at 6:00 P.M. by Mayor John C. McTaggart. Roll call was answered as follows: Present: Byrd, Hollingsworth, Ferraro & Mayor McTaggart Late Arrival: Lyon at 6:20 P.M. Also present were City Attorney Carol Lynch, City Manager Paul Bussey, Administrative Services Director/City Clerk Jo Purcell, Assistant to the City Manager Rick Otto, Senior Administrative Analyst Gina Park, and SPCA Animal Control Officer Chuck Mauri. Appeal of Vicious Dog Determination City Attorney Lynch summarized the hearing process to be followed to review the evidence and the.appellant's grounds for appeal of the October 17, 1997 Dangerous Dog Determination. Ms. Park presented the staff memorandum of November 18, 1997 and the recommendation to deny the appeal, thereby upholding the Hearing Officer's potentially dangerous determination dated October 17, 1997. Said determination having been the result of a Dangerous Dog Hearing held on October 13, 1997 pursuant to Municipal Code Chapter 6.32.050. Continuing with her report, Ms. Park reported that the October 13, 1997 Dangerous Dog hearing was conducted as a result of two reported dog bite incidents that occurred on September 20, 1995 and September 20, 1997 and one reported dog attack that occurred on January 10, 1996. Following the hearing the Hearing Officer concluded that the dog in question was potentially dangerous and, based upon this conclusion, ordered that the dog owner must comply with the following: (1) Install properly secured fencing; (2) ensure that the dog successfully completes obedience training from a professional dog trainer; (3) Place the dog on a leash and in a muzzle when leaving the property; and (4) Display on the premises where the dog is kept a sign indicating the presence of a potentially dangerous dog. The Municipal Code provides that any interested party may appeal the decision to the City Council; consequently, the spous of the most recent bite victim filed an appeal. The appellant believed that the dog should be determined to be vicious and be removed from the City. Dr. Renee Cohen (Dr. Kastenbaum's wife) testified that on September 20, 1997, Alex escaped from the house at 30043 Matisse Drive, attacked and bit her husband Dr. Steven Kastenbaum while he was standing outside his doorway to pick up his mail. Dr. Kastenbaum was injured and required medical attention. There was no testimony or evidence that Dr. Kastenbaum had made any aggressive moves at the time toward the dog or any member of the Lukes family. Dr. Cohen stated that Mr. Lukes did not attempt to restrain Alex nor was he able to immediately regain control of Alex. Dr. Cohen described Alex to be out of control; she witnessed the dog run down the street attacking moving vehicles immediately after the incident. Dr. Cohen testified that the City had known of prior incidents and the violent nature of the dog. Dr. Cohen referenced the SPCA officer's comments on the January 29, 1997 incident report, which described Alex to be "vicious"with a very unpredictable temperament and recommended that Alex be walked with a well-fitted harness and muzzle. Testimony received from Dr. Cohen and others present at the hearing indicated Mr. Lukes has yet to be seen walking Alex with a muzzle and Alex continues to be a threat to the neighborhood. Dr. Cohen pointed out that the SPCA recommendation of October 14, 1997, stated Alex should be either humanely destroyed or be permanently removed from the City. Dr. Cohen referred to a petition, submitted at the October 13, 1997 Dog Hearing, signed by over 50 neighborhood residents. The petition expressed concern of Alex's violent nature and requested Alex be removed from the City. Lois Potter, Mattise Drive, said she liked to walk in her neighborhood, however she is frightened by the threatening manner of Alex, Mr.. Lukes' German Shepherd. Ms. Potter testified that while walking past the Lukes'home, Alex was barking and straining at the leash at the time of the incident. She witnessed Mrs. Lukes topple over and be pulled out of her wheelchair while still grasping Alex's leash, as the dog lunged towards Ms. Potter. (At 6:20 P.M. Councilwoman Lyon arrived and wasp resent for the remainder of the meeting.) Karla Schmidt, 6317 Sattes Drive, said she has seen the dog and is concerned about the safety of her children playing in theY ard. November 18, 1997 Dog Hearing Page 2 Sagdish Chopra, 6317 Sattes Drive, also expressed her concern about safety when walking in the neighborhood. Sharon Guthrie, 6432 Le Blanc Place, related her experience that on two separate occasions while walking her dog near 30043 Matisse Drive, Alex behaved in a menacing manner by straining at the leash, rearing for an attack, etc. She observed that Mr. Lukes did not have control of the dog. Mrs. Guthrie expressed her fear of Alex. Mrs. Guthrie stated Alex would bark, growl and slam himself into the glass door at 30043 Matisse Drive whenever people walked by. There was no testimony that Mrs. Guthrie made any aggressive moves toward the dog or the owner to provoke any of the incidents. Refaat Bakhoum, 30111 Matisse Drive, explained that the dog exhibits vicious behavior and is frightening. Additionally, he said that Mr. Lukes cannot control the dog. Mr. Bakhoum testified that they have frequently witnessed Mr. Lukes walking Alex without a leash and on one occasion, they could not leave their house in fear of Alex, who was sitting on their front yard. Charlene Chang, 30047 Matisse Drive, said that she lives next door to Mr. Lukes and that on September 22, 1995, her dog was attacked and bitten by Alex. Mrs. Chang's dog required extensive medical treatment and 300 stitches. Mrs. Chang's testimony indicated that Mr. Lukes was unable to restrain his dog from attacking her dog in front of her house. Mrs. Chang testified that she has not seen Alex muzzled when walked until recently for the first time with the trainer. In addition, Mrs. Chang testified that an individual performing some work on her property was allegedly bitten by Alex within two years ago. This incident was not reported to the SPCA. Norm Birch, 6544 Sattes Drive, said he could confirm what Mrs. Chang had reported. Mr. Birch testified that on January 10, 1996, the dog attacked but did not injure him while he was walking along Matisse Drive. At the time, the dog was on a leash and Mr. Birch testified that.Mr. Lukes could barely restrain his animal. There was no evidence that the attack was provoked by any aggressive actions by Mr. Birch. Dee Beaumont, 30143 Matisse Drive, said that Alex had bitten her dog; that Mr. Lukes is not capable of controlling his dog; she had witnessed Mr. Lukes pulled.off his feet and dragged by Alex on one occasion. November 18, 1997 Dog Hearing Page 3 John Lukes, 30043 Matisse Drive, the owner of the German Shepherd dog named Alex, rebutted the remarks made by Dr. Cohen and said that Alex "nipped" but did not bite Dr. Kastenbaum. He detailed the efforts he has made to secure his property so Alex won't get out onto the street. Additionally, he explained that he has had a dog trainer working with Alex for six weeks and will continue to work with him for six months to change his behavior. He said that Alex is not a dangerous dog, but a friendly dog. He continued to state that Alex was his wife's guide dog and that his wife is very ill and that she would be very distraught if they were to lose Alex. In rebuttal to Mrs. Chang's testimony, Mr. Lukes stated that while his dog was on a leash, the Chang's dog was not and it was the Chang's dog that provoked the incident on Mr. Lukes' property. Mr. Lukes' testimony indicated that he was not at fault. In addition, Mr. Lukes denied that his dog bit a maintenance person working on the Chang's property. In rebuttal of Mr. Birch's testimony of being attacked, Mr. Lukes stated his dog never attacked Mr. Birch. Mr. Lukes submitted three letters from the following individuals: Gene Muntean, Kevin Abe, and Sean Crean; all the letters indicatedp ositive contact with Alex. Mr. Muntean's letter testified that Mr. Lukes regularly walked Alex past his house without an incident and that his dog had gotten along with Alex forY ears. Mr. Abbe's letter indicated that he had neither been bitten nor attacked by Alex while performing pool service duties on Mr. Lukes' property. Written testimony from Mr. Crean, Alex' dog trainer, indicated that Mr. Lukes and Alex have successfully completed six weeks of obedience and socialization training. Mr. Crean's professional opinion was that with continued practice and follow-through of techniques taught to Mr. Lukes, Alex will no longer pose a threat to anyone. SPCA Officer Mauri said that Mr. Lukes' property is now well secured and that Mr. Lukes complied with all the conditions of the October 17, 1997 Notice of Determination. Officer Mauri requested that the City send a representative to the location to verify these measures. Officer Mauri stated that Alex was a big and unfriendly dog. Jeff Beaumont, 30143 Matisse Drive, said that Alex did attack his St. Bernard; that Alex overpowered Mr. Lukes. He stated his concern about futureroblems caused b p Y Alex. Mr. Beaumont's testimony did not indicate where the incident occurred, what provoked such an incident or who witnessed the incident. Mr. Lukes denied that the November 18, 1997 Dog Hearing Page 4 incident occurred. Mayor Pro Tem Ferraro moved, seconded by Councilman Byrd to close the public hearing. Motion carried. Council deliberation of this matter centered on their concern about the safety of the neighborhood, the unpredictability of Alex's behavior, and Mr. Lukes' inability to control the dog. At the same time, Council was sympathetic to Mr. & Mrs. Lukes' feelings about their dog. The issue was brought up that the ordinance did allow the animal to stay with the owner and in the event of another incident, the dog could be ordered to be removed from the City. It was pointed out that more first hand testimony of incidents involving Alex was received at this appeal hearing as compared with the information available at the Staff administered hearing on October 13, 1997. The concern was expressed that Alex may escape from his residence at any time and cause serious injury to a child, adult or pet within the neighborhood, if he was permitted to stay. Councilman Byrd moved, seconded by Councilwoman Lyon to declare Alex a dangerous dog and direct that he be removed from the premises. The motion carried on the following roll call vote: Ayes: Ferraro, Lyon, Byrd & Mayor McTaggart Noes: Hollingsworth. The meeting recessed at 7:22 P.M. to the regular City Council Agenda, on motion of Councilwoman Lyon. Mayor Attest:; City Clerk n\ ityclerk\minutes\111897.dog November 18, 1997 Dog Hearing Page 5