Pit bulls’ owner cited after attack on dog
by Ryn Gargulinski on Sep. 12, 2008, under Local, Special
Jeff Dolph's beagle, Belle, has injuries from an attack by two pit bulls in Marana last week.
The owner of two pit bulls that mauled a beagle in Marana last week has received four citations, according to a spokeswoman for the Pima Animal Care Center.
The pit bulls were killed by a Boy Scout who used his pocketknife to fend off the two dogs.
Pit bull owner Geoff Carter, 28, who lives in the 9000 block of North Centipede Avenue, one block from the attack, was cited for two violations per dog: one each for not following the leash law and for having a biting dog.
The attack occurred Sept. 4 when 16-year-old Andrew “Moses” Diodati was walking through the Hartman Vista neighborhood with his friend, Jeff Dolph, 16, and Dolph’s 2-year-old beagle, Belle.
The two female pit bulls began to attack Belle, and Diodati came to the beagle’s defense by stabbing and slashing them with his pocketknife.
Jeff Dolph’s father, Johnny Ray Dolph, speculated that the dogs had chewed their way out of Carter’s yard through a hole in the wooden fence.
Both pit bulls died.
Belle survived, but with dozens of stitches and a $1,100 vet bill.
The younger Dolph was bitten once, leaving a deep knee wound.
Carter’s penalty for the citations, most likely a fine, will be decided in court, PACC spokeswoman Vicki Ann Duraine said.
“These are commonplace citations,” she said. Efforts to reach Carter for comment were unsuccessful.
