Collie’s ‘Severe’ Bite Injures Modern Electric Meter Man

A dog that once tried to bite an animal control officer attacked a 60-year-old meter reader Wednesday morning in the Spokane Valley.

John Riley, a Modern Electric Water Co. employee, received several stitches at Valley Hospital and Medical Center to close a gash in his left forearm.

Riley told animal control officers the collie attacked him about 9 a.m. in the driveway at 1508 N. Oberlin.

“I was talking friendly to the dog, (and) all of the sudden the dog lunged at me, biting me on the left forearm,” Riley wrote in a signed affidavit filed with Spokane County Animal Control. “I turned. The dog was then behind me and tried to bite me again.”

The dog relented and ran into the back yard when Riley tried to hit it, according to the report.

Rory Leeson, the dog’s owner, was charged on Thursday with owning a dog with vicious propensities, a misdemeanor. Leeson, 39, also was cited because the dog threatened a person, which carries a $76 fine.

Animal control officers also designated the dog as dangerous.

In October 1995, the dog tried to bite animal control officer Sheri Kent while she was investigating a complaint that the dog was not licensed, according to animal control records.

“The collie attacked me, biting my citation book,” Kent wrote on the ticket she issued Leeson for owning an unlicensed dog. Kent also noted that the dog was not confined.

Leeson’s girlfriend, Sue Loomis, said the dog is protective, but not mean.

Someone in the family took the garbage out before Wednesday’s bite, and must not have latched the gate, Loomis said. The dog probably pushed it open and went to lie in the shade, she said.

“He doesn’t like people in his yard, but I was shocked when they told me” about the bite, Loomis said.

Instead of going in the yard, Riley should have left a note in the mailbox across the street, Loomis said.

Meter readers are not permitted to leave notices in mailboxes, said Modern Electric general manager Mike Baker. They commonly leave a card on the front door of a home if a situation is unsafe.

Customers must help meter readers by securing their animals, Baker said. Residents can call Modern Electric to find out what day their meter is scheduled to be read.

Wednesday’s bite is the second Baker has gotten in the four years he has been with Modern Electric.

Nancy Sattin, county animal control director, deemed the dog dangerous due to the vicious nature of the attack, she said.

“I wasn’t really considering (the dog dangerous) until I saw the bite,” said animal control officer Jennifer Kline, who investigated Wednesday’s incident. She called the bite “severe.”

The dog is being held at the animal shelter for a 10-day quarantine period.

Before the dog is released, Leeson will have to meet the requirements for owning a dangerous dog. Those include building an enclosed cage, posting warning signs and insuring the dog.

, DataTimes