Yolanda Jefferson is on a mission to see pit bulls banned from the city of Conway or, at the least, restrictions placed on ownership of pit bulls.
Jefferson and her neighbor, Matthew Nedbalek, may not see eye to eye on everything these days, but they both agree that the friendly neighbor relationship they once enjoyed has suffered in the days since Nedbalek's pit bull named Ice attacked Jefferson's cat, Tiger, on June 17. Jefferson has previously had a bad experience with pit bulls. In December, three pit bulls jumped her fence and attacked and killed her 10-year-old poodle, J.J.
Jefferson reports the orange tabby was sleeping on her front porch about 10:30 p.m. when the attack occurred. She said she did not witness the attack but was sitting inside with the windows open.
"I heard Matt yell, 'Ice, no.' I heard him running through my front yard," she said. After the attack, the cat climbed up a tree and could not be persuaded to come down for some time, Jefferson said.
Nedbalek tells a different version of the story. He said he was walking about six feet behind his white pit bull Ice in his own yard when Tiger came off the front porch, went into the neighbor's yard on the other side and "took off running." The dog chased the cat and caught it in his mouth, Nedbalek said. He caught his pet at which point the dog let go, he said.
Nedbalek maintains both he and Jefferson are partly at fault for the incident because "neither animal was confined."
According to the city's animal welfare ordinance, dogs must be confined within a fence or enclosure or on a leash, and cats must be confined to the owner's property "in such a manner adequate to prevent the cat from running at large."
Jefferson took Tiger to the emergency vet the night of the incident. Tiger suffered two puncture wounds, two small abrasions to the shoulder and a palm-size swelling in the abdomen, according to paperwork Jefferson provided from the veterinarian. She said the cat will need surgery when he regains his strength.
In the intervening days, Jefferson has talked to anyone who will listen the Conway Animal Welfare Unit, the Conway Police Department, the Conway city attorney, members of the Conway City Council, etc. She is collecting signatures to petition the city council to put regulations on owners of pit bulls as well as more signatures (2,000 are required) in an effort to have an item placed on the election ballot.
"I'm not going to stop until I get 2,001 (signatures)," she said. "I'm seeking all restitution for my cat; I'm seeking the banning of pit bulls. I'm going to be very aggressive with (the city council, mayor, etc.), and I think I'm going to be one of the people they're going to be tired of. I'm going to do whatever it takes to be sure there's some type of regulation on pit bulls in the city of Conway."
Animal welfare took custody of Ice for several days but returned him to Nedbalek's family on Saturday.
Major Kerry Poole of the Conway Police Department's Animal Welfare Unit said during the investigation, "(We) would take the action we are taking regardless of the breed of dog."
He said Ice was declared vicious because this was the dog's second incident of attacking an animal.
"It met all the technical criteria of our ordinance. We didn't have a lot of options there. Once we looked at the history, this particular case, we felt that was the only option we had."
The ordinance states a vicious dog is one that: Causes death or serious injury to any person; on two or more occasions within a 12-month period, attacks or bites a person without provocation; on more than one occasion within a 12-month period, while off the property of its owner and without provocation, kills or seriously injures another domestic animal or livestock; or is trained for dog fighting.
Poole said Nedbalek appealed and "we looked in even greater detail. We even got the dog out and played with the dog, saw what tricks it could do. It's not a dog I would be afraid of if I met the dog, but we had no other options given the criteria of the ordinance."
He added Nedbalek will be able to keep Ice; he will just have to take extra precautions. While outside, the dog will have to stay in a kennel that meets the specifications of the ordinance or be on a leash with a muzzle.
"This ordinance is out there to protect people and their animals," Poole said. "It's not a common thing that we get to this point, but a few times this is what we have to do. This particular dog was, in my opinion, a lovable dog. He just took off after the cat, and that was the wrong thing to do."
(Staff writer Rachel Parker Dickerson can be reached by e-mail at rachel.dickerson@thecabin.net or by phone at 505-1277. Send us your news at www.thecabin.net/submit)
