NewsRegionOakland County

Actions

Policy changes follow dog attack at Oakland County Animal Control

Posted at 5:54 PM, Jan 03, 2020
and last updated 2020-01-03 17:54:02-05

(WXYZ) — Last month we told you about an Oakland County Animal Control Officer attacked by a dog at their facility in Pontiac. She was injured so badly she still has not returned to work.

The dog was being held in quarantine after biting its owner and two children.

County officials are now releasing more information about that —including harrowing surveillance video that shows how a dog named Roscoe attacked an animal control supervisor.

On the morning of December 12, a jail inmate worker entered the quarantine area and opened the dog’s cage door to pet Roscoe but did not properly close it.

Minutes later the dog jumped on the door, opening it and allowing the dog to leave the cage.

When the worker couldn’t get the dog back in, he left to get help. That’s when supervisor Shelly Grey came into help.

“Rushes towards Shelly and now has latched on to her right hip and the attack begins,” describes Animal Control Manager Bob Gatt.

Others came to help, using a stick to get the dog to break away from the woman.

Another animal control officer came in and fired his gun at the dog’s head, shooting it.

The victim was rushed to the hospital and needed surgery.

The dog was initially taken from a Troy home in October after it attacked its owner - a mother and two children who were injured so severe all three were taken to the hospital.

The next the day, while in the care of animal control, Roscoe attacked another animal control officer.

“The dog turned and bit him in the back and in the leg,” Gatt says.

Because the owner refused to surrender the dog, officials had to go through the court. The gruesome attack happened four days before the hearing.

Even though family members said Roscoe had bit them and others in the past, they still wanted to have him as a pet.

“Knew the dog was dangerous and decided that they would keep it no matter what,” says Gatt.

The family is not facing any criminal charges.

Now animal control has changed shelter policies for dogs in quarantine. That includes double locks on cage doors, jail inmate workers cannot have physical contact with the dogs in quarantine, staff must carry alerts and leashes at all times in the room. and there will be an enhanced safety training.

“We will never let this happen again,” says Gatt.