In the wake of last week's mauling death of a Spotsylvania woman, all pit bulls that come into the county shelter will be euthanized rather than being offered for adoption.
Spotsylvania Animal Control Director William Tydings announced that policy change yesterday at a meeting in Fredericksburg of Virginia Voters for Animal Welfare.
Tydings said he felt he had no choice about the decision and put it into effect on Thursday, two days after the death of 82-year-old Dorothy Sullivan and her dog, Buttons.
He said the move may not be permanent, but was essential for now.
"It's very disturbing to me that this even happened, but we're going to do everything we can to see the person responsible for this is held accountable--and anything we can do to see nothing like this happens again, that is our goal," Tydings said.
Sullivan was on her property walking her Shih Tzu on a leash when the three purebred pit bulls attacked and killed Buttons, then mauled Sullivan, Tydings told about 30 people attending a regional meeting of VVAW at the Colonial Inn in Fredericksburg.
Sullivan died while en route to VCU Medical Center in Richmond. All three pit bulls were killed by Spotsylvania officials.
Tydings said the incident profoundly disturbed him.
"I've been in law enforcement for 17 years. I've seen suicides, homicides, fatal accidents," he said. "This is one of the worst things I've ever seen. I'm still having trouble sleeping."
Prior to Tuesday's incident, Tydings said his office had "never discriminated against" pit bulls and had allowed rescue groups to adopt them. But he said the breed requires caution.
"The thing about a pit bull is it's a weapon," Tydings said. "A weapon in the right hands is not a problem."
Tydings said Stafford County already has a policy of not allowing pit bull adoptions, and Fairfax County had been "on the fence" about it until last week's incident. Fairfax has now banned them, as well, he said.
Yesterday, people attending the VVAW meeting echoed Tydings' sense of grief over the incident and observed a moment of silence in Sullivan's honor.
VVAW is a one-year-old statewide organization whose primary objectives are threefold, according to co-founder Don Marro of Delaplane in Fauquier County. Members want responsible pet ownership, responsible breeding and responsible government--meaning government that provides sufficient funding for animal control officers in Virginia to carry out their duties.
The issues of breeding and ownership were the ones members mentioned most often yesterday as having direct bearing on the pit bull attack.
Kim Kincheloe, who with her mother operates Lionhearts Inc. and the Virginia Kincheloe Spay-Neuter Clinic in Spotsylvania, said owners must be held accountable for problem dogs.
She owns a mixed-breed pit bull and her mother has a purebred pit bull, but neither has ever had a problem.
"It's not the pit bulls in general," she said. "It's how they are bred and raised. It is not innate in a pit bull to be mean."
Tydings agreed that owners are the problem, lamenting that the dogs pay the price.
"These pit bulls were killed because of irresponsible owners," he said. "We have to kill animals every day because of irresponsible owners."
VVAW's focus is on pursuing changes in state legislation.
Marro's frustration is that action didn't occur before Sullivan's death.
"You don't legislate for the good people," he said. "You legislate for the bad."
Now, he and Tydings expect legislative change to come and hope it will add criminal penalties for owners.
"The criminal laws are too weak, and we need to strengthen them," Tydings said.
Currently, dogs deemed as dangerous must be kept in kennels and signs must be posted on the property warning people of the threat. But owning a dog declared dangerous brings no penalty to the owner unless he or she fails to comply with the rules for keeping a dangerous dog.
The charge then is a Class One misdemeanor, and carries a penalty of up to one year in jail and a $2,500 fine.
Vicious dogs--ones that maim or kill--are euthanized, but again, no action is taken against their owners.
Until about two years ago, a dog couldn't be declared dangerous if it maimed but did not kill another dog. That has since changed.
Tydings now wants a law that would enable authorities to declare a dog dangerous before it injures someone.
He's hopeful that with a concerted effort from VVAW, the Virginia Federation of Humane Societies and the Virginia Animal Control Association--on whose board he serves--change can come.
"If anything good can happen [from this tragedy], I think some legislation will go through this year," he said.
To reach PAMELA GOULD: 540/657-9101 pgould@freelancestar.com