[nfbwatlk] Fw:arrest in Fort Worth guide dog attack

Mon Oct 9 12:06:17 CDT 2006

I hope they; lock that dude up for ten years!

Alco
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com>
To: "NFB of Washington Talk" <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, October 09, 2006 7:58 AM
Subject: [nfbwatlk] Fw:arrest in Fort Worth guide dog attack

> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: Marion & Martin
> To: NFBF List ; flagdu list
> Sent: Monday, October 09, 2006 5:47 AM
> Subject: [Nfbf-l] arrest in Fort Worth guide dog attack
>
>
> Dear Florida Federationists,
>    Because of the lack of prosecution of such cases in Florida, this is a
> very important case for us to follow. Please read on!
> Fraternally yours,
> Marion Gwizdala
>
> Pit bulls' owner arrested in attack
>
> dfw/archives_title
>
> Posted on Sat, Oct. 07, 2006
>
> Pit bulls' owner arrested in attack
>
> By DEANNA BOYD
> STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER
>
> FORT WORTH -- The owner of two pit bulls that attacked a 72-year-old blind
> woman and her guide dog last month has been arrested; he is accused of
> recklessly
> permitting the attack by not properly restraining his dogs.
>
> Lazaro Vazquez Sr., 49, was arrested at his home Thursday afternoon on a
> warrant for attack on an assistance animal, a relatively new and rarely 
> used
> state-jail
> felony punishable by up to two years behind bars. He remained in the
> Mansfield Jail on Friday with bail set at $10,000.
>
> "Because of the seriousness and viciousness of the attack by these two pit
> bulls -- who were not properly restrained -- on a frail, blind 72-year-old
> woman
> and her seeing-eye dog, we felt that it was necessary to pursue criminal
> charges," Fort Worth police Sgt. J.D. Moore said.
>
> The attack occurred Sept. 3 in the 3700 block of Bridalwreath Drive. It
> began as the woman, who is also partially deaf, and her black Labrador mix
> guide
> dog, Ryder, waited for a ride to church.
>
> The woman tried desperately to save her dog, according to an arrest 
> warrant.
>
> The woman told Detective M.L. Evans that as they waited, Ryder suddenly
> stood up, indicating that he saw a loose dog ahead.
>
> The woman held Ryder's leash tightly and waited for the loose dog's
> "friendly approach."
>
> Instead, a large dog lunged for Ryder's throat. The woman then heard the
> sounds of a dogfight and a second dog joining in the attack.
>
> As she tried to separate the dogs, the woman tripped and fell to the
> pavement. Bleeding and screaming for help, she felt Ryder being lifted off
> the ground
> and yanked out of reach.
>
> She crawled toward Ryder and reached for him, feeling teeth embedded in 
> his
> neck and a second dog holding onto his right cheek, shaking it from side 
> to
> side. The woman reached inside one pit bull's mouth to try to break its 
> grip
> and felt the pressure of three bites.
>
> The woman then bit one of the pit bulls in the hope of stopping the 
> attack,
> but she was unsuccessful.
>
> The attack finally ended after the woman heard people yelling and car 
> horns
> honking and felt water being thrown on her and the dogs.
>
> The woman was treated at Huguley Memorial Medical Center. Off-duty
> paramedics took Ryder to the I-20 Animal Medical Center in Arlington. 
> Moore
> said that
> the guide dog survived his injuries but remains in therapy.
>
> After the attack, officers found a brown 4-year-old female pit bull and
> white 3-year-old male in the area, their coats stained with blood. A third
> pit bull,
> a white 1-year-old female not involved in the attack, was found in the 
> front
> yard of the Vazquez home on nearby Longmeadow Way.
>
> Vazquez told police that the dogs were kept in a kennel in the back yard,
> which is also fenced. He said the dogs had been let out of the kennel that
> morning
> and had apparently escaped through an opening in the fence, the affidavit
> states.
>
> "I knew this was going to happen if they got out," the affidavit quotes
> Vazquez's 19-year-old son as telling officers at the scene.
>
> Officers noted that the fence was in poor condition and had a "Beware of
> dog" sign attached to it.
>
> "They knew these dogs were mean. They knew they should have kept the dogs 
> in
> the kennel in the back yard," Moore said. "They let them out of the kennel
> when it was obvious the fence was in disrepair."
>
> Vazquez relinquished all three pit bulls to animal control officers to be
> euthanized.
>
> His son, Lazaro Vazquez Jr., previously told the Star-Telegram that the
> family had never seen the pit bulls behave aggressively toward people or
> other dogs
> and that they were sorry for what happened. The family did not return a
> message seeking comment Friday.
>
> Animal control officers issued nine citations to the senior Vazquez after
> the attack: three for not having proof of rabies vaccinations, three for 
> not
> registering
> the dogs with the city and three for not restraining the animals.
>
> Moore said that to avoid double jeopardy, investigators went to municipal
> court last week and had the citations -- which had not been paid --
> dismissed.
>
> Rarely used law
>
> Under a Texas law that went into effect in September 2003, people commit a
> crime if they intentionally, knowingly or recklessly incite or permit an
> animal
> they own or that is in their custody to attack, injure or kill an 
> assistance
> animal.
>
> The crime is a Class A misdemeanor if the assistance animal is attacked, a
> state jail felony if it is injured and third-degree felony if it is 
> killed.
> Deanna Boyd, 817-390-7655
> dboyd at star-telegram.com
>
> © 2006 Star-Telegram and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
> http://www.dfw.com
>
>
>
>
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