Dog Bites Valley Resident Incident Is Fourth Over Four-Week Period

A 37-year-old man was bitten by a dog Thursday morning, the fourth person to be attacked by a dog in the Spokane Valley in as many weeks.

Gary Dent was bitten on the elbow while trying to chase a chow/Alaskan malamute mix away from a stray dog he had tied in front of his house in the 4700 block of East First Avenue, said animal control Officer Jennifer Kline. Dent said he heard the stray dog yelp and was bitten by the other dog when he went to investigate.

“It turned on him, lunged and bit him in the elbow,” she said.

The dog, known as “Bear,” was deemed dangerous. It is being confined at the county animal shelter during a 10-day rabies quarantine period.

“When it turned around, I started backing away,” Dent said. “It was a big dog.”

After the quarantine period, the dog will be held until its owner, Brian Reed, can meet strict conditions for owning a dangerous dog. Those conditions include such requirements as liability insurance, an enclosed cage, and warning signs.

Reed, who can appeal the dangerous dog designation, will be cited for owning a dog that exhibits vicious propensities, a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine, Kline said.

Reed, who lives at 4722 E. Second, also will be ticketed for allowing his dog to run at large, not having a current rabies vaccination, not having a current pet license, and because his dog threatened a person. Those fines total $304.

Animal control records show the dog bit two people in 1993, one of them several times, Kline said.

Reed could not be reached for comment.

Three young children were hospitalized briefly last month after being attacked by dogs in unrelated incidents.

The recent run of attacks has filled the six cages designated to house dangerous dogs at the county’s shelter. Animal control officials have had to confine some of the dogs in a different area.

, DataTimes