A 48-year-old Upper Bucks County woman is facing criminal charges for failing to control her dog, which attacked and seriously injured a neighbor — 10 days after a judge declared the pet as dangerous —requiring her to take safety precautions.
Pennsylvania State Police arrived in the 30 block of Evelyn Lane on May 24 for a report of a dog attack as the victim was loaded into an ambulance with severe injuries on his right hand and arm, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
The victim told police earlier in the night he took his two dogs out for a walk and as he was returning he saw his neighbor, Emily Whalen, park her car near her home, also on Evelyn Lane in Milford, the affidavit said.
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Whalen allegedly got out of her car, looked at the victim, then proceeded to leave the driver’s side door open and enter her home, closing the front door behind her.
As the victim passed Whalen’s unattended vehicle, her dog, a pitbull-terrier mix, rushed out the open car door and attacked one of the victim’s dogs, biting it, authorities said.
The victim attempted to separate the dogs, when he was bit. After separating the dogs, the victim alleges Whalen’s dog attacked him again.
A neighbor came to help the victim and managed to get a collar on Whalen’s dog. After the second attack, Whalen exited her home and helped the neighbor get control of her dog and apologized, the affidavit said.
The victim suffered two broken fingers, torn tendons, nerve damage and cuts and puncture wounds, and has lost feeling in four fingers on his right hand, police said.
A state trooper attempted to make contact with Whalen, but she refused to answer the door, though the trooper said he knocked for 30 minutes, the affidavit said. “Whalen entirely refused to cooperate with the investigation. It could not be verified that the dog is licensed,” the affidavit added.
Pennsylvania State Police filed three misdemeanor charges against Whalen including dog attack causing serious injury or death. She has a preliminary hearing scheduled for later this month.
Whalen did not have an attorney listed on the docket, and she did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
A subsequent police investigation found that Whalen was convicted at a May 14 summary trial of harboring a dangerous dog, after an incident in April, according to the affidavit and court docket.
At the time, she was told the dog needed to be registered and muzzled, collared, leashed and under physical control at all times outside the home.
Reporter Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at jciavaglia@gannett.com
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