Dog attack sparks new talks about possible Cassville leash law
Nadean Davis, a Cassville resident and mother of the woman attacked by two dogs last week, spoke to Cassville City Council on Monday, August 12, pleading for action on a leash law within city limits.
August 14, 2019
Charlea Estes-Jones
A vicious dog attack in Cassville last week left a woman severely injured and others demanding changes to city ordinances to draft a leash law in the city. Cassville Elementary School counselor Kristie Preddy was walking on Wednesday, August 7, when she was attacked in the early morning hours by two dogs near the intersection of 12th and Main Streets.
Preddy suffered serious injuries, including two broken arms and at least 25 bite wounds. In an interview on Monday, August 14, she said she would have to have at least two surgeries on her left arm, and they will know more this week regarding the extent of the injuries on her right arm.
She explained what she remembers from the attack early Wednesday morning, "I was just walking down the street exercising in the morning, and the dogs crossed the street and attacked me.
"It was kind of blurry, so I'm not sure how long it lasted."
Preddy said one person posted on Facebook they saw the attack and honked to try to deter the dogs, but they were too afraid to get out of their vehicle to help. She said the attack was disorienting and details are difficult for her to remember. "I don't even remember anyone being there."
Cassville Police officer Anthony Larson took a report on the incident at 5:47 a.m. and was able to locate the dogs and get them into quarantine at a local veterinarian's office, according to Cassville Police Department detective Danny Boyd.
The Barry County E9-1-1 Center took two calls at 5:45 a.m. about the incident, one from a passerby and one from Preddy herself.
Det. Boyd confirmed the owner of the dogs has been cooperative regarding the investigation and quarantining of the animals.
Preddy, who frequently walks for exercise in the city, said while dogs are common, she didn't expect to have something like this happen. She said, "You see them every once in awhile, and sometimes they'll come up to you, but usually you can stomp your foot and they'll leave you alone. I've never had one close to attacking before this."
Preddy's mother, Nadean Davis, requested to speak at the Cassville City Council meeting on Monday, August 12, to talk about what happened and ask the city to do something about the lack of a leash law inside city limits.
Preddy said, "Mom has tried to get an ordinances for years. This very easily could have been her. Had it been a child or an elderly person, I'm not so sure they would have survived the attack. I don't know that they could have kept fighting for as long as I had to fight."
Davis and Preddy, along with about a dozen other community members, showed up for the Cassville City Council meeting on Monday evening, August 12. Davis addressed the council with her concerns and brought up points regarding safety inside the city and residents' attitude regarding not keeping their dogs contained since the city has no leash law on the books.
This isn't the first time leash laws have been requested by city residents, but the council's vote has always been that there aren't enough funds for a dedicated animal control officer and to build a pound.
Davis has addressed council before about the dog issues before as she regularly walks the streets in town and picks up trash.
She told the council members Monday, "The faces of council are different than when I was here before, but the issue is the same. Dogs have been allowed to run in this town as long as I've been here, and that's been 40 years. There are numerous people that have told me they've been bit by dogs in this town, and it takes a dog mauling to happen to get the town in an uproar. Because dogs are being allowed to run, you have handicapped your own police force to take care of the situation."
She also told council that many walkers in town are now carrying pistols to protect themselves from the dogs. She said she has even talked to dog owners in town where she has had repeated issues with their pets while she walks inside the city limits. She said, "The owner of that dog will call that dog back and I've told her to put the dog on a leash. Her comment is I don't have to because we don't have a leash law in this town’.”
Davis added, "The whole thing keeps coming back to how much it's going to cost the city. No body is saying how much it's going to cost my daughter and her family."
Davis continued, "Does someone have to die in this town before an ordinance is passed and a leash law and a fence law is passed to keep these dogs from running free?
"Please find some way to pass a dog or pet ordinance where dogs have to be on leashes and have to be behind fences, something to protect the people in this town. If this had been a small child walking to school, we would be planning a funeral service."
After Davis and a handful of others addressed the council, mayor Bill Shiveley said council members have already had discussions with a few city staff members on how to take care of the animal issues in the city. However, he did not offer a plan or a time line for when changes would be made. He said, "The council is committed to doing something, but I don't know how we're going to do it."
Shiveley's main point was the city would need to find a funding mechanism to pay for a leash law. He said, "To establish a leash law you're going to enforce and take care of the animals you're going to pick up is just somewhere in the neighborhood of $200,000 to $250,000 to start. To qualify, you have to have the truck. You have to have the person hired to do it. You have to have a place to impound them where they will be taken care of." Shiveley said he spoke to the City of Monett and said they told him it was between $40,000 and $50,000 each year to run it.
He did not specify where his figures for the initial start up came from. Shiveley did give statistics on the calls involving animals so far this year. From January 1, 2019, to July 31, 2019, the total number of calls for service for the Cassville Police Department was 4,170. Of those, the calls for service involving animals was 99. Calls for service involving vicious animals including dog bites were 14. The number of animal-related citations was eight so far.
Council member Jon Horner thanked Davis for coming to the council and expressed how sorry he was about the attack on Preddy. Horner also said, "I've put a lot of thought and prayer into this and it was a horrible incident. I concur with that the mayor said. I have no problem putting to a vote of the people a measure to put a leash law into effect and properly fund it. I have no problem with that being the next step for that the council do."
Horner emphasized the importance of a funding mechanism for a leash law because of the requirements of caring for an animal. He said, "If you're going to take into possession someone's dog, you've taken on an awesome responsibility. You've got to feed and care for this dog."
Horner continued, "You cannot do it halfway. You have to do it right. To do things right, it would require a funding mechanism. I would have no problem at all putting it to a vote of the people a sales tax to put a leash law in and fund it correctly."
As far as the dogs that attacked Preddy, on Monday, August 12, Boyd said, "We also got an order from the judge to euthanize the two dogs, and that was done this morning."
The owner of the dogs, Carla Costlow, went to court for one of the dogs involved in the attack on Preddy not even two weeks before Preddy was attacked. That dog was accused of attempting to bite a smaller dog that was being walked by its owner on February 23, 2019, according to Boyd.
Costlow requested a trial in that case, which is what delayed the court date. Boyd said, "She had trial on this case on July 29 in Cassville City Court. She was ordered to pay a fine and she told the judge the dogs were outside the city, to which it is obvious they were not."
The charge in that case was for a vicious animal. The judge in that case and the upcoming case is Cassville City Judge Randee Stemmons.
Costlow has four municipal charges against her for the two dogs that allegedly attacked Preddy. She will go to court on August 19 for two counts of having a vicious animal and two counts of dogs not having rabies tags.
Preddy said she is focusing on her recovery and has tried to remove herself from the negativity of the situation. She said, "Part of the reason why this has been so difficult is I'm an animal lover. We have our own pets and our own animals. That makes it so much more difficult. I can't ever imagine anyone owning a dog that they would allow to hurt someone.”
Preddy added that she wanted to dispel rumors online that the dogs were mixed breed dogs and not pit bulls as people have claimed on social media.
Charlea Estes-Jones
A vicious dog attack in Cassville last week left a woman severely injured and others demanding changes to city ordinances to draft a leash law in the city. Cassville Elementary School counselor Kristie Preddy was walking on Wednesday, August 7, when she was attacked in the early morning hours by two dogs near the intersection of 12th and Main Streets.
Preddy suffered serious injuries, including two broken arms and at least 25 bite wounds. In an interview on Monday, August 14, she said she would have to have at least two surgeries on her left arm, and they will know more this week regarding the extent of the injuries on her right arm.
She explained what she remembers from the attack early Wednesday morning, "I was just walking down the street exercising in the morning, and the dogs crossed the street and attacked me.
"It was kind of blurry, so I'm not sure how long it lasted."
Preddy said one person posted on Facebook they saw the attack and honked to try to deter the dogs, but they were too afraid to get out of their vehicle to help. She said the attack was disorienting and details are difficult for her to remember. "I don't even remember anyone being there."
Cassville Police officer Anthony Larson took a report on the incident at 5:47 a.m. and was able to locate the dogs and get them into quarantine at a local veterinarian's office, according to Cassville Police Department detective Danny Boyd.
The Barry County E9-1-1 Center took two calls at 5:45 a.m. about the incident, one from a passerby and one from Preddy herself.
Det. Boyd confirmed the owner of the dogs has been cooperative regarding the investigation and quarantining of the animals.
Preddy, who frequently walks for exercise in the city, said while dogs are common, she didn't expect to have something like this happen. She said, "You see them every once in awhile, and sometimes they'll come up to you, but usually you can stomp your foot and they'll leave you alone. I've never had one close to attacking before this."
Preddy's mother, Nadean Davis, requested to speak at the Cassville City Council meeting on Monday, August 12, to talk about what happened and ask the city to do something about the lack of a leash law inside city limits.
Preddy said, "Mom has tried to get an ordinances for years. This very easily could have been her. Had it been a child or an elderly person, I'm not so sure they would have survived the attack. I don't know that they could have kept fighting for as long as I had to fight."
Davis and Preddy, along with about a dozen other community members, showed up for the Cassville City Council meeting on Monday evening, August 12. Davis addressed the council with her concerns and brought up points regarding safety inside the city and residents' attitude regarding not keeping their dogs contained since the city has no leash law on the books.
This isn't the first time leash laws have been requested by city residents, but the council's vote has always been that there aren't enough funds for a dedicated animal control officer and to build a pound.
Davis has addressed council before about the dog issues before as she regularly walks the streets in town and picks up trash.
She told the council members Monday, "The faces of council are different than when I was here before, but the issue is the same. Dogs have been allowed to run in this town as long as I've been here, and that's been 40 years. There are numerous people that have told me they've been bit by dogs in this town, and it takes a dog mauling to happen to get the town in an uproar. Because dogs are being allowed to run, you have handicapped your own police force to take care of the situation."
She also told council that many walkers in town are now carrying pistols to protect themselves from the dogs. She said she has even talked to dog owners in town where she has had repeated issues with their pets while she walks inside the city limits. She said, "The owner of that dog will call that dog back and I've told her to put the dog on a leash. Her comment is I don't have to because we don't have a leash law in this town’.”
Davis added, "The whole thing keeps coming back to how much it's going to cost the city. No body is saying how much it's going to cost my daughter and her family."
Davis continued, "Does someone have to die in this town before an ordinance is passed and a leash law and a fence law is passed to keep these dogs from running free?
"Please find some way to pass a dog or pet ordinance where dogs have to be on leashes and have to be behind fences, something to protect the people in this town. If this had been a small child walking to school, we would be planning a funeral service."
After Davis and a handful of others addressed the council, mayor Bill Shiveley said council members have already had discussions with a few city staff members on how to take care of the animal issues in the city. However, he did not offer a plan or a time line for when changes would be made. He said, "The council is committed to doing something, but I don't know how we're going to do it."
Shiveley's main point was the city would need to find a funding mechanism to pay for a leash law. He said, "To establish a leash law you're going to enforce and take care of the animals you're going to pick up is just somewhere in the neighborhood of $200,000 to $250,000 to start. To qualify, you have to have the truck. You have to have the person hired to do it. You have to have a place to impound them where they will be taken care of." Shiveley said he spoke to the City of Monett and said they told him it was between $40,000 and $50,000 each year to run it.
He did not specify where his figures for the initial start up came from. Shiveley did give statistics on the calls involving animals so far this year. From January 1, 2019, to July 31, 2019, the total number of calls for service for the Cassville Police Department was 4,170. Of those, the calls for service involving animals was 99. Calls for service involving vicious animals including dog bites were 14. The number of animal-related citations was eight so far.
Council member Jon Horner thanked Davis for coming to the council and expressed how sorry he was about the attack on Preddy. Horner also said, "I've put a lot of thought and prayer into this and it was a horrible incident. I concur with that the mayor said. I have no problem putting to a vote of the people a measure to put a leash law into effect and properly fund it. I have no problem with that being the next step for that the council do."
Horner emphasized the importance of a funding mechanism for a leash law because of the requirements of caring for an animal. He said, "If you're going to take into possession someone's dog, you've taken on an awesome responsibility. You've got to feed and care for this dog."
Horner continued, "You cannot do it halfway. You have to do it right. To do things right, it would require a funding mechanism. I would have no problem at all putting it to a vote of the people a sales tax to put a leash law in and fund it correctly."
As far as the dogs that attacked Preddy, on Monday, August 12, Boyd said, "We also got an order from the judge to euthanize the two dogs, and that was done this morning."
The owner of the dogs, Carla Costlow, went to court for one of the dogs involved in the attack on Preddy not even two weeks before Preddy was attacked. That dog was accused of attempting to bite a smaller dog that was being walked by its owner on February 23, 2019, according to Boyd.
Costlow requested a trial in that case, which is what delayed the court date. Boyd said, "She had trial on this case on July 29 in Cassville City Court. She was ordered to pay a fine and she told the judge the dogs were outside the city, to which it is obvious they were not."
The charge in that case was for a vicious animal. The judge in that case and the upcoming case is Cassville City Judge Randee Stemmons.
Costlow has four municipal charges against her for the two dogs that allegedly attacked Preddy. She will go to court on August 19 for two counts of having a vicious animal and two counts of dogs not having rabies tags.
Preddy said she is focusing on her recovery and has tried to remove herself from the negativity of the situation. She said, "Part of the reason why this has been so difficult is I'm an animal lover. We have our own pets and our own animals. That makes it so much more difficult. I can't ever imagine anyone owning a dog that they would allow to hurt someone.”
Preddy added that she wanted to dispel rumors online that the dogs were mixed breed dogs and not pit bulls as people have claimed on social media.
