Aug 18, 2007 2:47 pm US/Central
After Boy Killed, Mpls. To Look At Dangerous Dogs
(AP)
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Zachary King Jr., 7, was killed Thursday after being attacked in the basement of the family's north Minneapolis home by a pit bull named Face, a dog that had bitten two other people in the past.
CBS
In the aftermath of the fatal mauling of a 7-year-old boy by a pit bull in his Minneapolis home, the city is looking at ways to address what some leaders call an increasing number of so-called dangerous dogs in the area.
Zachary King Jr. was killed Thursday after being attacked in the basement of the family's north Minneapolis home by a pit bull named Face, a dog that had bitten two other people in the past.
The boy was the fourth known Minnesotan since 1960 to be killed by a dog, and some city officials are calling for a ban on all dogs deemed dangerous.
"This debate isn't about docile pets nuzzling their owners," City Council Member Don Samuels said. "It's about dangerous dogs maiming and killing people. That's where we are at, once more."
Neighborhood activists plan to distribute fliers in the area encouraging residents to anonymously tip officials to dangerous dogs and dog fighting.
"We're not going to take this," said Roberta Englund, executive director of the Folwell Neighborhood Association in north Minneapolis. "Sometimes it feels like there are more pit bulls than guns around here, and we're sick of it."
The state currently prohibits cities from banning residents from owning a specific breed of dog, but Samuels says it's time that changed.
"Laws are always behind solving the problem they need to," Samuels said.
King's death may give him the ammunition he needs to get something done. Family members said Zach's parents kept Face tied on a leash in the basement and also had a female pit bull and five puppies that roamed the house.
The boy's father, Zach King Sr., shot and killed Face after trying to rescue his son and being severely bitten on the arm and the other six dogs were taken from the home, police said.
Police are investigating the boy's death to see if his father was criminally responsible. Face had previously bitten two other people, including Joe Friendshuh, who was putting up a fence at the home of King's neighbor when the dog got out of the house and attacked him.
The city decided not to destroy Face after that incident after deeming Friendshuh's injury to be minor.
"If the dog was put down like it should have been, Zach King would have a son right now," Friendshuh said.
Face also bit a child in 2005, but the city deemed the attack provoked because the neighbor child entered the house unannounced.
"There was just not enough evidence there that this dog was doing anything other than what it was supposed to," said Tom Deegan, manager of Animal Care and Control for Minneapolis.
It's not the first time a dog ban has been considered in Minneapolis. In 1988, the City Council imposed severe restrictions on pit bulls and owners. But dog owners sued and the ordinance eventually was overturned.
Craig Dyar, Zach's cousin, said the family is reeling from his death.
"I'm pretty sure that nobody would have a dog around if they knew it was dangerous enough to take a life," he said. "It makes my uncle seem bad."
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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