NOTTOWAY COUNTY, Va. — A Nottoway County woman says animal control took over two hours to respond after two loose dogs killed her dog and charged at her.
Jessica Grey came home from work on May 7 to find her 4-year-old German short-haired pointer, Pearl, mauled to death in her yard in the 6300 block of Namozine Road, just outside the town of Crewe.
Grey says when she pulled up to her house just before 2:30 p.m., she discovered two loose dogs standing over Pearl's body.
"I get out of the car, and I start walking towards the dogs. Well, then the dogs turn on me, and they started barking and charging at me," Grey said.
Grey says she immediately called 911 while she was trapped on her porch but says it took over 30 minutes to receive a call from an animal control officer.
More than two hours later, she said animal control told her they had located the two dogs and would be at her home soon.
"I feel like in a public safety crisis, you know, where there's dangerous dogs on the loose, two hours is just unacceptable because these dogs already have the taste for blood," Grey said. "I mean, they went to the owner's house next, but who knows where they could have went next?"
Grey says when she asked animal control if the dogs would be euthanized or the owner charged, animal control told her that because she did not actually witness the attack, there was nothing they could do.
"I feel like these aggressive animals in a way are being prioritized over the safety of the community," Grey said.
Grey says she also asked the county to file a dangerous dog designation for the two dogs, which would require them to be confined year-round and the owner to have special signage and liability insurance, but that request was also denied.
"It could possibly hurt a child or an elderly person," Grey said. "Is that when it's going to be taken seriously when something bad like that happens because there's no excuse for it, and it shouldn't be happening. This has been a living nightmare."
Nottoway County animal control officer Shelia Estes says the dogs' owner has been charged with breaking the two-month county confinement period and not having proper dog licenses, but that the magistrate denied the dangerous dog designation because Grey did not witness the attack.
Pearl was inside an invisible fence in Grey's backyard at the time of the attack. Grey has since had Pearl cremated and says she still wants justice for her dog.
"I mean, public safety has got to be a priority because this shouldn't keep on happening," Grey said.
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