COLERAIN TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WKRC) – It appears vicious dogs were allowed to stay in a local neighborhood despite the fact that the owners agreed to have animal control take them away.
This discovery came after Local 12 viewed body cam video from Colerain Township police following the dogs brutally attacking Emily Rentschler. The dogs have now been put down.
Hamilton County Animal Control said that the owners of the pit mix and Rottweiler mix had their vet put down the dogs, but people are still upset because animal control didn’t immediately remove the dogs after the attack, even though the owners had consented.
It was a chaotic scene earlier in March in a normally quiet Colerain Township neighborhood. Two dogs, accidentally let out of their backyard, attacked Rentschler. It sent her to the emergency room with shredded arms and other severe bites and bruises all over her body.
Local 12 spoke with Rentschler shortly after she returned from the hospital—as she was finding out that Hamilton County Animal Control hadn’t removed the dogs from the home where they escaped.
“Those dogs are still up there right now,” said Rentschler. “I don’t understand it.”
That day, Local 12 went to Cincinnati Animal CARE, contracted as the county’s Animal Control Department, to ask why its animal control officer didn’t remove the dog.
“Neighbors are stunned that the dog warden wouldn’t just take those dogs,” Local 12 said to Lisa Colina, the spokesperson for Cincinnati Animal CARE.
“So, the dogs are owned,” said Colina. “So, we cannot just take owned dogs unless they are surrendered to us or we have a court order from a judge to do so.”
But now, it has been learned, after viewing police body cam video released to Rentschler, that the owners did in fact offer to surrender the dogs.
Here’s an excerpt from the video:
- Cop: “Are you willing to surrender your dogs?
- Owner: “That’s fine.”
- Cop: “You’re voluntarily surrendering them?”
- Owner: “Yeah.”
The Colerain police officer then immediately walks over to the animal control officer and relays that the owners agreed to give up their dogs.
- Cop: “I asked if he would surrender his dogs, he said, ‘Yes.'”
- Animal Control: “That would have to go through way above me.”
- Cop: “Can you call your boss and see if he can surrender them under severe injury?”
- Animal Control: “Yeah, I can call.”
The animal control officer talks to his supervisor — calling them “chief” — and then hangs up.
- Animal Control: “Thanks chief.”
- Cop: “What did he say?”
- Animal Control: “No.”
County Commissioner Alicia Reece read a letter she received from Colerain Township Trustees at a public staff meeting the Tuesday following the attack.
“‘Colerain Township condemns’ is what they said. ‘The inaction of the dog warden and their decision to allow the dogs that ruthlessly mauled one of our residents to remain in the neighborhood,’” Reece read.
The county commissioners asked the chief dog warden, Beth Ward, why she didn’t remove the dogs from the home but instead allowed them to quarantine there.
Additional Coverage:
“We offered to take the dogs for the owners under the quarantine period,” Ward said. “But they have not agreed to that at this time.”
At that time, neither the commissioners nor Local 12 had seen the body cam disputing this. Why exactly animal control chose not to take the dogs is unclear. Spokeswoman Lisa Colina emailed Local 12 on Thursday.
“In subsequent conversations between the dog owner and Chief Ward, the owner continued to decline our offer to quarantine the dogs.”
The owners have asked Local 12 to leave them alone. Animal Control said that it did end up taking the dogs for the last five days of their quarantine before they were euthanized. Local 12 is presenting this new information to the county commissioners for their reaction.
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