Loose pit bulls prove costly

Owner gets 90 days in jail, 18 months of probation.

October 27, 2011|By LOU MUMFORD | Tribune Staff Writer

NILES — Allowing her two dogs, both pit bulls, to run loose proved costly Wednesday for a Buchanan area woman.

Berrien County Trial Court Judge Scott Schofield sentenced Heather Marie Pruett, 33, of North Hamilton Drive on the western fringe of Niles Township, to 90 days in jail and 18 months of probation. In addition, she’ll be required to perform 180 hours of community service at a local animal shelter.

Also, she was ordered to pay $1,360 in fines and court costs and up to $30,000 in yet to be determined restitution to three Buchanan residents who are still recovering from injuries suffered when they were attacked by the dogs. Also injured was a dog one of the victims was walking, resulting in veterinary bills exceeding $400.

According to court documents, the attacks occurred several hours apart on Sept. 10, with the first involving Doyle Vergon, a former Buchanan city manager and commissioner.

Vergon was walking his dog, Wilma, at Dewey and Short streets in Buchanan when the pit bulls attacked him and his dog, inflicting serious wounds to Vergon’s leg. The documents indicate Vergon’s injuries and those to his dog would have been worse had two witnesses not intervened and chased the pit bulls away.

Later that day, the dogs attacked Margaret Desenberg outside her house. Her brother, Lou Desenberg, a retired attorney, rushed to assist her and, like his sister, was injured as a result. Court documents state both Desenbergs will require skin grafts.

A police report of the incidents said the dogs had been missing from Pruett’s residence for as long as two days prior to the attacks. The dogs were captured by the Berrien County Animal Control Department and destroyed following a quarantine period.

Staff writer Lou Mumford:
lmumford@sbtinfo.com
269-687-3551

|

|

|