Today, members of the council discussed a fatal pit bull attack near the Medical Center in mid-July. Two pit bulls attacked an elderly man and his daughter, then went after emergency personnel called to the scene. The woman who released the dogs was later charged with reckless homicide.
Though the police department cannot comment on a pending investigation, a representative from the police department said that officers assist animal-shelter employees with capturing stray dogs, if need be.
The department also recently revised its policy to include sending a K-9 unit to help because “a lot of our officers are not familiar with dogs,” said deputy director Toney Armstrong.
Memphis City Council person Barbara Swearengen Ware said she had grave concerns about the incident. Regular readers to this blog probably know that Ware isn’t much of an animal lover. But maybe she likes them more than we think.
“I hope an all-out alert has gone out to dog owners that they need to do something,” she said. “If you love them, put them in your bosom and keep them away from other people.”