‘Dangerous’ dog may be allowed to live

Published 7:29 am Thursday, April 21, 2011

One side feels like they could lose a family member.

The other side believes she could have lost her life.

On Wednesday, the Whitfield County Board of Commissioners upheld a ruling by Animal Control declaring John and Connie O’Brian’s boxer bulldog, Sampson, a dangerous dog following an attack last month that left a Chattanooga woman severely injured.

The dog could be euthanized or allowed to live, depending on whether the O’Brians meet several conditions. Those include putting a fence around their home, providing an enclosure and obtaining sufficient insurance.

Connie O’Brian claims Sampson wasn’t involved in the attack. Instead, she said it was his son, Scotty, who repeatedly bit Joan Grimsley, a 62-year-old nurse with Avalon Hospice in Chattanooga. Grimsley said two dogs attacked her. Scotty was euthanized on Monday.

“This has been blown way out of proportion,” Connie O’Brian said. “I put the dog down that did the damage.”

Commissioners voted 4-0 to declare Sampson dangerous during Wednesday’s called meeting. Chairman Mike Babb did not attend the meeting. Commissioners held a public hearing on Monday to hear from Animal Control officials, the O’Brians and Grimsley. County ordinance allows dog owners an appeal if their pet is considered dangerous.

The O’Brians did not attend the Wednesday meeting. Their attorney, Hugh Kemp, attended but was not allowed to address the board because the public hearing had already been held.

The attack happened on March 25 at the O’Brian home at 1158 Percheron Drive, according to a sheriff’s office incident report. According to testimony at the Monday hearing, Grimsley went to the O’Brians’ home to provide care for a family member. She had previously been to the house. Before entering the home, Grimsley called Connie O’Brian, who put her three boxer bulldogs away upstairs, Grimsley said.

After Grimsley walked in, the dogs somehow got loose. Scotty attacked her while Sampson also began to bite her, Grimsley told commissioners. The third dog, Delilah, did not join the attack.

Grimsley feared for her life, she told commissioners. One dog was biting her midsection and arm, while the other was biting her buttocks, she said. Connie O’Brian yelled at both dogs and ordered them to stop, O’Brian said at the hearing. She eventually wrestled them outside.

Grimsley went to the Parkridge East Hospital emergency room in East Ridge, Tenn., with multiple wounds to her left knee, right buttock, right shoulder and right arm, according to the incident report. She didn’t go to Hamilton Medical Center because she wasn’t familiar with the area.

The dogs were taken to Animal Control and observed by Diane Franklin, Whitfield County rabies control officer. A three-person committee at Animal Control declared Sampson and Scotty dangerous.

Connie O’Brian maintains Sampson did not participate in the attack, but Grimsley distinctly recalls two dogs biting her. Franklin said Grimsley’s wounds showed two dogs bit her and observed Sampson being aggressive in his pen at Animal Control, she told commissioners.

There were “a lot of inconsistencies” at Monday’s hearing, Connie O’Brian said. She doesn’t believe Franklin is qualified to determine bite marks, nor does she believe a veterinarian could either. She believes bite marks can only be determined by a forensics investigator.

“The hearing Monday was so biased, to me it was unbelievable,” Connie O’Brian said.