Georgetown resident Chris Korczyk speaks to council members during the Village of Georgetown’s Oct. 13 meeting.
Georgetown resident Chris Korczyk said he was in his yard with his 35-pound, labrador-mix named, Charley, around a few weeks ago when his pet was attacked by the neighbor’s vicious dog. Korczyk said the attack was unprovoked, and he found himself underneath the two dogs as the attack took place. Korczyk suffered no injuries, but the injuries to his dog were severe.
“Charley was full of energy, she loved to run and play, and was generally a happy dog,” said Korczyk, as he described his dog before the attack.
Korczyk, after adopting Charley, said he spent a great deal of money on dog training to help her overcome her fear and anxiety, and she had become a beloved member of his family, a non-aggressive pet.
“When it comes to fight or flight, Charley is 100-percent flight,” said Korczyk.
Korczyk resides on South Main Street in Georgetown, and said he was walking Charley in his backyard around 12:30 a.m. when the attack took place. He said Charley was on a leash at the time.
“I heard a rustling sound behind me and turned to see my neighbor’s 90 plus pound dog charging through the bush at me,” said Korczyk.
Korczyk said Charley jumped between him and the attacking dog, and the neighbor’s dog hit with such force it knocked him to the ground. According to Korczyk, the neighbor’s dog latched onto Charley’s left, rear leg and began to thrash her around, causing deep lacerations, torn ligaments, and muscle damage.
When he was able to rise to his feet, Korczyk was unsuccessful when trying to stop the attack.
“Nothing would cause the dog to release,” said Korczyk.
“After screaming and yelling for what seemed like an eternity, the vicious dog’s owner finally came out with his girlfriend, and only then with the two pulling on him did he release my dog,” said Korczyk.
Korczyk said he spoke to local law enforcement and the Brown County Humane Society dog warden, but since no human was injured there was nothing they could do about the neighbor’s dog attacking Charley.
“The officer told me they had no jurisdiction to do anything about a vicious dog, and referred to the Brown County Humane Society dog warden. When I arrived and spoke to the workers at the humane society, they told me they had no jurisdiction to do anything about a vicious dog,” he explained.
A civil lawsuit seemed to be his only option, but that can be a rather lengthy process. Korczyk was concerned that the dog could attack another pet in the area or possibly a human before a civil lawsuit could be resolved, and he expressed his concerns publicly during the Village of Georgetown’s regular council meeting held Oct. 13.
“What if the next time it is one of the children in my neighborhood that he decides to attack?” said Korczyk.
As of Oct. 13, Charley was still not able to use her back, left leg.
Georgetown has a leash law in the village, but no ordinance to regulate vicious dogs.
Local municipalities have the power to regulate vicious dogs, and council members discussed looking into what options they have to help regulate vicious dogs in the village.
“There are a number of people who keep grandchildren in that neighborhood,” said Georgetown council member Nancy Montgomery, concerned with residents’ safety after hearing of the attack on Korczyk’s dog. “Nobody should have to worry about their children or grandchildren being in their own yard to play.”
Korczyk passed out photos of Charley’s injuries to council members, and said he planned to put up a privacy fence to help prevent future attacks.
Georgetown Mayor Dale Cahall felt the issue of vicious dogs in the village could be reviewed by the Emergency Services Committee and the committee can explore ideas of what could be done by the village.
“If we take the action of doing this, then we also probably have to be the enforcer, we have to be the remover of the dog, which we are probably not trained to do; or we would have to hire an entity to come in and lasso the dogs and cage them,” explained Cahall.
If able to remove vicious dogs, the village would then have the issue of where to house the dogs.