HAGERSTOWN, Md. — Stormy was a 7-year-old cat belonging to Nick Pringle and his family, including a 9-year-old child. With a sleek gray coat and folded ears, Stormy’s favorite activity was lying on the porch on South Potomac Street to sunbathe for hours.
On July 28, Stormy was attacked and killed by two loose pit bulls on the family’s porch at around 8 p.m. After the attack, Pringle contacted animal control and Hagerstown police. The family contends the police response to the incident was inadequate, saying officers did little to investigate or locate the owners of these dogs.
Stormy’s family claims these dogs have been lingering in the area for anywhere from three to six months. The family says when the dogs first began roaming the area they wore collars containing their owner’s contact information — so Pringle called the owners to pick up the dogs.
Pringle says that more recently, the dogs do not wear collars, and were not on the night they attacked Stormy
Hagerstown Police Department said HPD has no jurisdiction over occurrences of animal-on-animal violence, and this situation falls strictly under animal control’s purview to investigate. Despite questions about the ability to charge a pet owner for having their animals loose, police reported that they are unable to charge someone for this, even if the animals are violent.
In Washington County, the Humane Society is responsible for enforcing animal control ordinances. The Humane Society of Washington County said that neither police nor animal control officers have been able to locate the dogs or their owners and no citations have been issued.
Allowing a dog to run loose in Hagerstoiwn results in fines ranging from $25 to $250 depending upon the number of occurrences.
Anyone who thinks they may have located these dogs should not approach, but should contact Animal Control field services at 240-707-3082.
