Spaniels Attacked By Bigger Dogs

Two cocker spaniels were attacked in the Spokane Valley by larger dogs over the holiday weekend.

“It was an epidemic of dogs attacking other dogs,” said Spokane County Animal Control director Nancy Hill.

On Sunday afternoon, two dogs ran from a yard in the Riverwalk development near Barker and Mission and attacked a leashed cocker spaniel being walked by a woman pushing a baby stroller, Hill said.

The woman had to pick up her dog to stop the attack. The spaniel was shaken and bruised, but otherwise appeared uninjured, Hill said.

The owners apparently came out and got the dogs.

Once contacted, the owners will likely be cited for two counts each of having a dog at large and allowing a dog to threaten a domestic animal.

Each of the four counts carries a $76 fine.

The second attack occurred in Greenacres on Monday afternoon. A man told Animal Control he was walking his cocker spaniel with his seven-year-old son. A German shepherd grabbed the dog by the neck and shook it.

The spaniel had a gaping neck wound, Hill said.

She talked to the owners of the shepherd and cited them for allowing the dog out of the yard and for allowing it to attack another dog.

All three of the dogs involved in the attacks will also be deemed potentially dangerous, essentially a warning. If the dog ever acts out again, it can be declared dangerous, a label which requires owners to get liability insurance and keep the dog locked up.