Dog owner, animal shelter at odds over troublemaking pooch
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SUMNER, Wash. -- A standoff between Animal Control and the owners of a dog named Missy is leading to a fee so large, the owners fear they may never get their dog back.
James Peters and his wife concede they have haven't been perfect pet owners.
"Our dogs, they like to get out," James said.
James called the dogs "escape artists" and said they always seem to find a way to run loose.
The family's fence is now getting fixed, but a few months ago the dogs got loose and ripped up a neighbor's Chihuahua. James said he agreed to pay the $4,400 vet bill, but before long Missy got out again.
That was the last straw for Animal Control, and they took the dog away.
James believes Missy is scheduled to be euthanized on Tuesday, and he's worried sick.
"We don't want her to lose her life. She's got no reason to even be there," he said.
Officials from the shelter insist there has never been any plan to euthanize Missy, but they do say James and his wife need to pay a hefty fee to get their dog back.
While officers investigated, Missy sat in the shelter. One month turned to four, and now her boarding fees are $1,500, according to the shelter.
The City of Sumner says they cut her fee in half, but James, who's out of work, said he can't afford to pay, even on a payment plan.
"Money's very tight," he said.
There's a "free Missy" Facebook page, and donations from another website have brought in $300 toward getting the dog back home.
If Missy does come home, it will be with stipulations. Animal Control officials say Missy -- along with the family's other two dogs -- has been deemed a "potentially dangerous dog." If she comes home, she and the other two dogs will have to be restrained or they could face euthanasia.
James Peters and his wife concede they have haven't been perfect pet owners.
"Our dogs, they like to get out," James said.
James called the dogs "escape artists" and said they always seem to find a way to run loose.
The family's fence is now getting fixed, but a few months ago the dogs got loose and ripped up a neighbor's Chihuahua. James said he agreed to pay the $4,400 vet bill, but before long Missy got out again.
That was the last straw for Animal Control, and they took the dog away.
James believes Missy is scheduled to be euthanized on Tuesday, and he's worried sick.
"We don't want her to lose her life. She's got no reason to even be there," he said.
Officials from the shelter insist there has never been any plan to euthanize Missy, but they do say James and his wife need to pay a hefty fee to get their dog back.
While officers investigated, Missy sat in the shelter. One month turned to four, and now her boarding fees are $1,500, according to the shelter.
The City of Sumner says they cut her fee in half, but James, who's out of work, said he can't afford to pay, even on a payment plan.
"Money's very tight," he said.
There's a "free Missy" Facebook page, and donations from another website have brought in $300 toward getting the dog back home.
If Missy does come home, it will be with stipulations. Animal Control officials say Missy -- along with the family's other two dogs -- has been deemed a "potentially dangerous dog." If she comes home, she and the other two dogs will have to be restrained or they could face euthanasia.
BTW - I know the landlords and what have they done? Seems like they should review the lease agreement and get them out of there ASAP!!!!!!!!!! From the looks of the back yard, those people have trashed the place pretty good from what I remember.
@badneighborssuck This is interesting. How did you do it? Put black face on and sneak up to their windows and look in or crawl up to their windows on your belly and use the old mirrors on a stick trick? Maybe you used a telescope from your house? Cool
Missy's owners have caused problems since the day they moved in. There were young children living next door and they were afraid to go outside because of their dogs. They owners have basically trashed the house and put up a chicken wire fence to contain the dogs. When that didnt work, they put up some wet, gaffitied-on partical board up from the junk pile in the back yard. That obviously didnt work. I walk past that house almost daily and the dogs sit in the front window and bark uncontrollable at every person who walks by. They have ruined the widows and blinds in an attempt to get out. They are mean dogs and not well-trained. The guy who lives there is disgusting and in this is definitely a case where dogs mimic their owners! That used to be a nice house until those new tenants moved in (Missy's owners). They should not be dog owners - period. As for Duke, he is a TINY dog and always friendly and always stays by his mom's side. He certainly is not a nuisance like the other three dogs. If they cant afford to get their dog out, it's their own problem, no matter who is to blame. Maybe they should stop partying and put a few bucks aside to get Missy out. She deserves to be put down if you ask me. What if that was a child?!? The owners belong in jail, too! Shame on them.Â
@badneighborssuck  This is kind of interesting. How didi you do it? Put black face on and sneak up to the windows and look in or did you crawl up to the windows and use the old mirrors on a stick to look in? Maybe it was a telescope you used from your house.Â
What? I think you need to get your meds checked and label the bottles this time. Marmaduke changes her story every time she posts. Hmmmmm. Talk a mob mentality. Hey Igor, gather the peasants, pitchforks and tourches.Â
 We don't need to know the truth, lets just get them.Â
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Just to add some facts. The fees from animal controled were not cut in half to help the owners. They are letting them to pay half to get Missy out and the rest they have agreed to arange payments for the rest. That is a fact!! Then the Peters have voice mails from animal control telling them if they don't get Missy by tues. she would be euthanized! They have the proof on that. They couldn't get Missy out until papers were filed for an appeal, but they ( animal control) forgot to do it for 2 months. Then they couldn't her out because they had to wait for the appeal. Which the court date was set for a long time because of Bonney Lake City Office. They have done everything they were ask to do!!!!
My opinion, I agree it sounds like we are blaming animal control and Bonney Lake, you are right. They both messed this up so bad and Missy may lose her life because of it and most people want to blame the owners of Missy.
Missy would never have been taken away if her owners took proper care of her and kept her under control.
@momsangles Nope. If you love your pet, you will take care of your pet. If you do a half bottomed job at it, then things like this happen. They made their bed and they can lay in it. It isn't animal controll's fault. It isn't the bad relationship between neighbor's fault. It's their dogs, they repeatedly let them run loose, they earned the responsibility. That's it. It need go no further than that.
I think we need to send this whole scenario to a reality show producer, it would make a million - "Missy The Millionaire" This web-site has kept me entertained for 2 days now. I Love it! Keep it up, I want to see how it all plays out. Donate! Donate! Donate! See if we can make Missy a Millionaire!!!!
I'm going to say this again. Please don't donate to their facebook site. They repeatedly let their dogs get loose. They've had more than four months to pay the fine that animal control say they cut in half, and get this dog back and haven't done so. This isn't the one and only time their dog(s) have gotten loose. I for one, don't like seeing individuals like this, repeatedly do whatever they please only to then beg the public for help to bail them out once their actions catch up to them.
@what? You don't no what you are talking about!!!! It took two months for animal contorol to file any papers on Missy. Because they forgot. Then BonneyLake couldn't get around to giving them a court date. They didn't reduse the fees until last week!!!!!!!! Yes animal control did say they were going to kill Missy! I think you don't have animals and if you do you don't love them like these people do! They will do what ever they can to save their dog !!!!
I'm going to say it ANGAIN!!!!! No what your talking about before you call names and try to slander other peoples lives !!!!!!!!
@momsangles "Â I think you don't have animals and if you do you don't love them like these people do! They will do what ever they can to save their dog !!!!"
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Ok, first, thanks for the laugh.
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I've had pets all my life. I've also NEVER had anything happen with my pets. Why you ask? Becuase they are a part of our family and I take care of them. Even when it means standing in the rain waiting for the dog to pick a spot. It means keeping an eye on your pets. It means taking care of the things that come up along the way not making ASSUMPTIONS that something won't happen, or being stupid enough to think something won't happen again. If it were me, after they got loose the first time I'd have had a dog run with cables and leashes. They could have prevented the escape from happening again by building a dog run or by putting them on a leash and walking out there. This happened because the owners wrongfully assumed the dogs would be fine to go out unattended. They were wrong. I'll also say, that if I had to make some quick cash to bail my dog out of the pound, I'd take the first job I could find. If than means flipping burgers or changing oil at a mechanic so be it.
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So again, do they have cell phones ($60 per month give or take)? Do they have an internet subscription ($50 per month give or take)? Do they have cable tv ($35 per month give or take)? How have they cut back to set aside money to fix the fence? How have they cut back to put money towards paying the bill? No, a facebook campaign begging for cash isn't exactly being responsible now is it?
@momsangles Here's the deal. I will say it as many times as I need to. Did they let the dogs get out repeatedly? Yes they did. Did the dogs rip up a neighbor's dog while out and about? Yes they did. Did they fix the problem or did the dogs get out again? Yes they did. Did animal control take the dog because the owners repeatedly failed to contain it? Yes they did. Have they had more than four months to come up with the money to bail the dog out of puppy jail and have not done so? Yes again.
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Did I get any of that wrong? If not, how is there any way that this is NOT the fault AND responsibility of the Peters family? The answers being given for not fixing the fences and resolving this problem are excuses, nothing more. Did they (fill in the blank), yes or no. I don't care why. Extenuating circumstances mean nothing. This is the real world and they have proven again and again and again that they don't feel they should have to follow the rules that everyone else does. Sorry, they've brought this stink on themselves and guess what? They deserve it.Â
 @what?  @momsangles They couldn't bail Missy out of Jail because she was being held until a court date 1. sounds like you might be the looser neighbor with a power trip...I see a big old piece of Karma Pie coming your way....find out the facts before you spew hate doornob
I'm not sure if anyone else has mentioned this, but Duke, the dog that got bitten, also runs loose in the neighborhood--on a daily basis. Also, police have intimated that they no longer bother responding to Duke's owner's frequent complaints--they call over anything and everything, but don't seem to mind when THEIR dog ends up in someone else's yard. Of course a larger dog is capable of doing more damage, but you must remember that Missy's owners weren't intentionally letting their dogs out. Accidents happen, as unfortunate as that may be. This story misrepresents or omits other basic information as well, such as the fact that animal control didn't offer to cut their ransom fee in half, but rather accept half up front and payments on the rest. I view this as nothing short of extortion. Nor does it explore the REASON why the bill became so high--the fact that the "officials" in charge dropped the ball on numerous occasions and essentially stretched this process out until the owners are practically at their wits end to get this resolved. The fact that Missy's owners have dropped so much money on this should be proof enough that they care about their animals. I think anyone who truly cares about animals with see through all the BS and recognize the sad truth of this story--some unfortunate things happened, and Missy's owners have more than stepped up to make things right. They need their dog back.
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Oh, one last thing: Animal control did more than intimate the dog was going to be put down. They gave Missy's owners a deadline by which they must pay!
@scarycary Blah blah blah... How much damage has Duke done? Whom has been bitted? How much in hospital bills?
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The point being, these two rocket scientists have allowed their dogs to run amok to the point where they cased a lot of damage to another dog in it's own yard. They then repeatedly failed to properly secure their dogs and one got impounded. Sounds to me like they are the bad neighbors here. Your comment also has absolutely nothing to do with the story and frankly sounds like complete BS.
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You have a very nice day, and if you really want to make this world a better place, try to teach the Peters clan some responsibility and integrity. Defending and excusing the actions, or in this case, the inactions, of a couple of irresponsible pet owners isn't doing anyone any good.
 @what?  @scarycary I'm not sure you can make the statement, "Who has been bitted," then go on a rant about rocket scientists. I suggest you read past the story and actually see what people who know what actually happened have to say. Touting the (false) claim that "animal control went on record" is laughable. Are your self-righteous inanities based on actual knowledge of the events, or your reading of a poorly researched story?
@Sandygal1976 I'd take that a little further and suggest that the Peters' initiated this by going to the media in an attempt at fleecing the masses however the story didn't quite come across as they'd hoped. Now I'd say they're a bit upset that the truth got in the way of their sob story and that the public is in fact looking at them as piece of poo neighbors with dogs they let come and go with no regard to the problems that stem from that. Couple that with the attitude of 'well the neighbor lets her little dog off the leash all the time, why are we in trouble', and I get the impression they have spent thier lives living off the good graces, handouts, and whatever forgiveness they can beg of others. That said, it must be quite a shock to them to find out that no, they really aren't special or any different from anyone else and are held to the same rules and laws like the rest of us.
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I think it's a shame that animal controll doesn't just put the dog up for adoption to some other family. Relocate the dog within the county elsewhere and adopt it out to someone who is not just willing, but able to care for a pet.
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Stories like these sure make me glad that we hhave the neighbors we have. If I had to live next to the Peters', I really wonder how long I'd be staying in that neighborhood.
They clearly have NOT owned up to their mistakes. If they had, Missy never would have been roaming again. Instead of their whining and blaming everyone but themselves, they would have fixed their fence already and saved up the money in the last four months to pay the bill themselves. They wouldn't have gone to the media to beg. And given that they have gone to the media, for starters, they should have been able to show how the fence is completely repaired and that the dogs have been re-trained. But no, I still just heard blaming, blaming, blaming.
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And the people 'in charge' have NOT made shambles of the whole affair. They are trying to figure out what to do with people that repeatedly let their dogs misbehave and then can't pay and aren't taking responsibility for their own actions. If the owners cared for their dogs properly, there wouldn't be this fiasco to begin with.
@scarycary "Missy's owners have done everything requested of them--their only sin is not having the money to get their dog back."
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I'd add to the list failure to secure their pets.
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"How many animal owners do you know who's animals haven't gotten out on occasion? Sometimes those escapes become non-events. Sometimes the animal gets run over, sometimes another animal (or person) gets injured. Those things are unfortunate but sometimes unavoidable aspects of pet ownership"
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I disagree. I've known a lot of pet owners over the years. We are also pet owners ourselves. The situations you describe are allways avoidable and only occur when the owner fails to properly look after their pet. Had they properly taken care of the animals, none of them would have gotten out a second time. But again, that's not what happened here. These animals got out multiple times. Several of them mauled another dog. That's a lot more serious than them getting out and leaving a steamy pile in someone else's yard.
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"we work as well as we can to minimize their occurrences."
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I think we can all agree they failed repeatedly. They didn't fail once, they failed multiple times.
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"They have dropped a lot of money on legal defense"
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They brought that debt on themselves.
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"who incidentally has already received nearly double the cost of the vet bills"
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GOOD! They ought to have received more. I view our pets as members of the family and if that had been us, paying the vet bills and giving us almost $5k still wouldn't have been enough.Â
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"This has snowballed in a ridiculous way, and it's shameful how the people "in charge" have made a shambles of the whole affair."
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Sorry but had the Peters' not created a facebook page panhandling, had the Peters' told the reporters they didn't want to talk about it, this story wouldn't have even hit the media. Think of it this way. The Peters' have stepped on a rake publically and are upset that it hurt. They did this to themselves and the blame goes no further than that.
 @what?  @scarycary There are actually public (court) records which contradict a number of things asserted in this story. I'm not suggesting the writer purposely set out to be misleading, but rather that he didn't put much effort into it--especially in regard to research. One would assume that a story from a bona fide news outlet would deliver accurate information. One would think that animal control's "official statement" is likewise reliably accurate. In this case, neither of those things is true. Missy's owners have done everything requested of them--their only sin is not having the money to get their dog back. They owned up to their mistakes, attempted to address those failings, and were met with more misfortune. How many animal owners do you know who's animals haven't gotten out on occasion? Sometimes those escapes become non-events. Sometimes the animal gets run over, sometimes another animal (or person) gets injured. Those things are unfortunate but sometimes unavoidable aspects of pet ownership, and we work as well as we can to minimize their occurrences.
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The Peters voluntarily handed over the dog. They have dropped a lot of money on legal defense (to get their dogs back, not to deal with the litigious neighbor--who incidentally has already received nearly double the cost of the vet bills). This has snowballed in a ridiculous way, and it's shameful how the people "in charge" have made a shambles of the whole affair.
@scarycary Sorry but my typo's don't send dogs to the vet to get put back together. My comment was directed at the repeated irresponsibillity demonstrated by the owner's and their 'oh woe is me, we're victims in all this' attitude.
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My comment about animal control going on record is as they are quoted in the story saying they never threatened to euthanise the dog nor do/did they plan to.
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Animal control just doesn't go into people's backyards to seize dogs only to hold them hostage until the owners pay the extorsion fees. The owner's played a roll in this by repeatedly allowing their dogs into a yard that does not prevent them from getting loose AND failing to supervise the animals. They deserve the ridicule, typo's and all.Â
This is the excuse of 'everyone else is breaking the rules, so I should be able to as well'. The owners of Missy repeatedly broke the law and are now unhappy with the consequences. If they had a prior problem with the neighbor dog, they could have reported it. It's still their responsibility to keep their dogs from roaming and attacking other dogs, period.
It is?
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Do you think that every dog that ever escapes should be murdered as well? Your hatred astounds me.
 @what?  @scarycary They lied, there are voice mails that they left and have been saved for a later court date...sounds like you need to educate yourself.
@momsangles Then call and let animal control deal with it. It is not your right to deal with that on your own. Pick up the phone and make the call that some little ankle biter is menacing the 'hood and you don't feel safe anymore.
The problem never would have happend if the owners of Missy had taken care of their dogs properly, period. Missy was taken away after repeated problems, not just a one-time event. No matter what, the owners are responsible for their dog's behavior. Stop making excuses for negligent behavior.
@Sandygal1976 What about the little dog not being on a leash? That is brakeing the law and this dog is always running loose. What is her consequences for this. Don't get me wrong it was a terrible thing that happen and I feel so bad for the dog. But you also need to remember what these little dogs are like. I mean they think they are big dogs and maybe it provoked the the big dogs. I don't know. I do know that the day the dog was hurt the dogs were in the house and some how opened a slider window and got out. So you can't say the owners weren't being responcable for their pets. I was surprise that they figured out how to open a locked window. So if you no the answer to that please tell me.
Also Missy wasn't part of the attack.
@scarycary "Do you think that every dog that ever escapes should be murdered as well?"
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See this issue isn't as simple as you're making it sound. First, this isn't a one time offence off with it's head response by animal control. The dog got out repeatedly as did the others. So the problem was an ongoing one. Next, these dogs did some severe damage on one excursion. That elevates the seriousness of the offences. Last, once the dog had been picked up and impounded for being on the loose yet again, it has sat in animal control for four months.
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Again, this is for four months of the shelter feeding, watering, cleaning up it's poo, and caring for it. The Peters' have had four+ months to get the money together to bail the dog out and have not. That says that the dog isn't as important to them as they claim it is. No money to be able to pay the fine? Sounds like they are living beyond their means. Do they have cable and internet? Do they have cell phones? That right there could be cut to cover the expense of being a(n) (irresponsible)Â pet owner. However if those monthly expenses do exist, and they choose not to cut back, again, the dog isn't as important to them as email, you tube, and sending a few text messages.
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That brings me to the FB page. Digital panhandling at it's finest. "Someone took my beloved pet and is holding it for ransom. If we don't get the money they're going to kill it". Sure, I'm paraphrasing here, but that's exactly what they're claiming. And it's a lie. A lie in an attempt at generating income. Income they claim will be put towards freeing the poor dog that was wrongly taken from them because they *might* have looked away long enough for it to slip out, but it's not our fault... Yeah right. Sorry, they made a number of mistakes and they lost a dog. They keep up with the pattern and they're going to end up loosing the others that get out and they only have themselves to blame.
@scarycary The kennel went on record as saying thhe animal isn't set to be euthanised. They've also said that they never threatened that the dog was to be euthanised. So you're just being mellodramatic with the Peter's exaggerated false claims.
I was referring to all your blaming and complaints about Animal Control and the neighbor dog misbehaving. I don't think Missy should be put down, but her owners take ownership of their negligent behavior, pay whatever fines they owe, and stop blaming everyone else for their problems.  They allowed this horrible situation to happen.
I've never mentioned anything about killing an innocent dog.Â
 @Sandygal1976 Killing an innocent dog is called "respect for the law and neighbors"? It must be a blood relative of hatred, they look so alike!
It's not hatred. It's called respect for the law and neighbors. If you break the law and let your dogs attack the neighbor dog, don't be surprised about the consequences.
I can't believe what you guys are saying about people you don't even know! First of all MergGunderson you are A SICK PERSON. To even say shooting  the owners is totally stupid, not only you said it but it is in writing on a public page. So your opinon doesn't even matter to me.
The owner of Duke is not who she says she is. If you read her comments on this you will see she isn't telling the same story in all her comments. One time she says all three of the dogs attack her dog and then another one she says Missy had nothing to do with it. Make me wonder how about you? So the insurance company paid the bill. Isn't that why we have insurance for these or any kind of problems? Is anyone thinking here or just jumping on a band wagon to make someone else look worse than your self. No one know the truth in every part of this sad problem. But  yet you want to point the fingers at someone else. Shame on you!!!! Have you nothing better to do? It's sad that Duke got hurt but it is also sad that Missy could lose her life over this. All of you people just want to make a bad situation even worse.
Just saying!!! maybe you will get the finger pointed at you next time. Just think about it.
@momsangles "The owner of Duke is not who she says she is."
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Really? So she's not the owner of a dog who gor ripped up by the Peter's dogs?
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"So the insurance company paid the bill. Isn't that why we have insurance for these or any kind of problems?"
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So having insurance gives us free reign to run amok? It gives us the right to do whatever we wish with no thought to the reprocussions or the impact that our actions, or in this case inaction, would have on those around us?
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"But yet you want to point the fingers at someone else. Shame on you!!!! Have you nothing better to do?"
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Nope. I sit here by my computer just waiting for the opportunity to fingerpoint. Look, I understand that you're obviously close to the Peters. That comes through loud and clear, however there is a problem here and it has nothing to do with bad relationships between neighbors. The Peters have demonstrated a history of failing to secure their dogs. Their dogs have cause problems while running loose. They have had repeated warnings and now one of their dogs got impounded for running loose. They have been given ample opportunity to pay the bill and bail the dog out, yet they have not done so. That has nothing to do wtih Duke's owners. To further compound the problem, the Peter's have take to social media asking for handouts. That's like some DUI offender taking to facebook asking for help because the mean old state is trying to make life hard for them. The Peters' have made their own problems and have no one to blame for this except for themselves. There are no other sides to this story as the rest of the BS you and others are putting out is completely irrelevant.
@what? You don't no the facts !!!!!! DUI??? What are you thinking????? DUI? Do you no what that even means? How dose this even compare to drunk driving?? Yes I am close to the Peters and I no the facts and no the proof to their side of the story. Apparently you don't no anything about it !!
@momsangles It's called a simile. It's a comparison between two things using the words 'like' or 'as'. Allow me to elaborate.
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The Peters' have shown repeated events of being irresponsible pet owners. On one of those events, their dogs mauled and nearly killed a neighbor's dog in it's own yard. They have incurred fines and bills from said event that they are unable and unwilling to pay. They have since turned to social media in an attempt at online panhandling the public in an effort to raise enough money to alieve themselves from financial responsibillity stemming from their irresponsible behavior.
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The DUI reference was showing an irresponsible driver, also incurring financial fines and fees from their irresponsible and reckless behavior, turning to the public in an attempt at dodging financial responsibility for their actions.
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You have a very nice day.
First off, like the saying: Dont judge a book by its cover, that goes the same with Duke's owner. She is WELL aware of the pain & suffering she has caused Missy's family long before this incident even happened. Sadly, those things are not reported in media reports because stories are limited to a certain amount of time and what makes the story "sound better" is really what sells for the media. Knowing one of the pet owners since we were 15 years old & hearing of the horror stories of Duke's owners actually being the one harrassing & instigating problems amongst the 2 homes, started long before the attack. She even admits, freely, that Missy is NOT the dog that attacked Duke and yet, their Renter's Insurance paid her double what her vet bills were....I feel the insurance company should use this story & comments to help to recoup some of their money back. I own a dog who is listed on the "agressive breed" list & sadly, she is a lover and anyone who knows us and her since she was 8 weeks old, would defend us to the death on that statement. I have a siter who has a chi, who is horrible & threatening to anyone who comes near him! I am an animal lover & he is the ONLY dog, that places fear in me! Who are we to assume that Duke did not provoke a fight? Small dog syndrome with 2-3 large dogs? I find it hard to believe that a chi would even survive such an "attack" by such large dogs anyways & having experienced issues with neighbors who have 3 aggressive & violent dogs of 3 different breeds, when a dog wants to attack & kill, they will do so & not stop. I would like to hear how this woman, terrified for her dog & I am assuming her life, could get these large breed dogs off of her lil chi without being attacked herself because that is the "norm" with aggressive & violent dogs. Just stating some facts that maybe some of these people who posted such name calling, assuming & righteous, ridiculous posts should have been thinking BEFORE they blamed & assumed that Missy is bad & her owners are not caring, loving pet owners who are trying to do their best by their pets. If they were so "bad" & didn't care, don't you think this story would not be on here or their would not be a FB page supporting Missy? This has been an emotional & financial strain on Missy's owners as well and they too had too hire an attorney. As a matter of fact, in conversation with my gf, she had mentioned when this first started, that they had called the police numerous times on the harrassment with Duke's owner. So again, DO NOT JUDGE without knowing ALL the facts. Missy needs to be with her family. Did you see aggressive behavior towards the camerman or news crew?? I did not...they played & frolicked without any displayed aggression or violent growls or attack stand of wanting to protect their domain or owners. My heart is with Missy....has been & will be until she is home. And for those of you who chose to feel sorry for Duke's owner, have at it! I feel for Duke and what he experienced but we were not there to know the truth...only Duke's owner was present & she is not the most honest person on the block! The truth shall set you free Missy <3
@Army*Mom Blah blah blah blah. They couldn't take care of their dogs. Their dogs as a pack tore up that little chi in it's own front yard to the tune of almost $5k in vet bills. They were warned to be responsible pet owners. They refused and allowed the animals to get out. The dog was picked up and impounded. Please elaborate HOW Duke's owner's have any blame in this? Keep in mind that this was something that happened on Duke's owner's property by three uncontrolled and uninvited dogs.
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"BEFORE they blamed & assumed that Missy is bad & her owners are not caring, loving pet owners who are trying to do their best by their pets."
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Hahahahahaha. Doing best by their pets would be to contain them in the yard. Doing best by their pets would be properly supervising them. Doing best by their pets would be to accept full responsibility for the damage their pets do. Being loving and caring pet owners would be to have done all of the above and PREVENTING them from ever escaping the yard in the first place. Being loving and caring pet owners and doing right by their pets means bailing the d@mn dog out of puppy jail instead of whining and crying in social media about how mean and nasty everyone is for stealing their dog. They're just little kids in grown up people bodies. They are not showing any responsibility for their pets and to make things worse, they are showing a clear lack of integrity by asking the public to bail them out.
The problem never would have happend if the owners of Missy had taken care of their dogs properly, period. Stop making excuses for negligent behavior.
@Sandygal1976 Like i said before. They did what they should have done. Get the facts!
@momsangles Um, no they didn't. The dogs kept getting out. Had they done what they should have done, the dogs would not have escaped a second time.
 @Army*Mom "If they were so "bad" & didn't care, don't you think this story would not be on here or their would not be a FB page supporting Missy?"
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Having a FB page isnt proof of anything either way. Neither is a story on KOMO
 @Army*Mom Why dont you help his non-working owners fix their fence? Without a job he should have plenty of free time.
Your people's trust in the media is ridiculousness! If they said it on the news it must me true?! What bothers me about this story and all these comments is that nobody seems to care about the life of the dogs in this situation. Yes mistakes were made but is Missy the right soul to be paying the cost. Yes, its terrible that the chihuahua got attacked but it did not die, and this neighbor got paid well over the cost of the vet bills. I find it funny that people think Missy should die- who was not the dog that attacked the chihuahua but the chihuahua should get all this extra money, for what? Pain and suffering? You want to humanize that dog but not Missy?  Yes, the shelter claimed that they had no plans to euthanize Missy but anyone who believes that is naive. They don't adopt out "dangerous" dogs. The truth is Missy is a very sweet dog and actually very shy. Not at all aggressive. All the people on here posting nasty comments should be ashamed of themselves stop trying to be Billy Badass by posting comments on some news stream.
@Manders2010 I care about those dogs. I feel it would be in their best interest if they were ALL removed from that family and given to homes that not only have the intentions of properly caring for them, but also the abillity.
I think this must be the owner in disguise...it sounds an awful lot like the post Mrs. Peters posted earlier then deleted.
 @Manders2010 So would you be happier if it was the other dog facing the death penalty?
Let me start by saying I own very large "Dangerous Breed" Dogs. I keep them contained with a 7ft. fence on a large beautiful lot. I get them regular vet care, and they are a big part of my family. Â I am a home owner, and I believe that you should keep your animals contained and safe from people like the chihuahua lady. I think many of you are assuming that the news story was 100 percent accurate. Not that a news agency would lie. But I investigated this situation, Missy is not the dog that attacked the small dog. In fact, Missy was not caught roaming, but was actually picked up at her home after a neighbor complained that there was a black and white dog was roaming the neighborhood. The animal control officer never saw Missy roaming the neighborhood. The Dog owner handed the dog over from inside the house. Â I would venture to say, by reading the comments of the home owners below that this has a lot to do with the fact that they feel superior to the "renters" because they "Own" their homes. I agree the fence should be fixed and the dogs should be under control. But lets face it people, the guy lost his job, and his dog got out of his yard. Â He isn't a jerk, and he isn't a slime because he rents a house instead of own...they had a bad day, that was it. Â For you to sit and judge people and call them scam artists for asking for donations to help get their dog out of a jail that it has been in for 4 months when the chihuahua's owner below clearly has stated it wasn't Missy who attacked her dog is really sad...I hope you never loose your job, I hope your animal never gets out of your yard and hurts another dog, and I hope you never have to be in this position to have to ask for help from judgmental, uninformed, snobs that cannot see past their t.v. screen and off the end of their pointed up noses...Good Day!Â
@Truth I find that hard to believe. the dog would not have been seized from it's own yard, properly secured and supervised by it's owners. The dog got out. The dog got picked up by animal control. The woner's have not paid the fine to get the dog back. None of this would have happened if the owners had properly secured their pets. Do you need me to say that again? None of this would have happened if the owners had properly secured their pets. They had plenty of chances. they had plenty of warnings. The rolled the dice too many times and lost. It certainly IS their fault and no I don't feel sorry for them one bit.
For situations like this, it's not a single action in particular. It's the whole problem. The owners repeatedly let their dogs escape. Some of the dogs attacked and injured a neighbor dog. The owners STILL allowed their dogs to escape after that, and didn't pay for the injured dog's vet bills until the other owner got a lawyer involved. The fence apparently is still not fully repaired. The owners are blaming everyone but themselves for their problems. They even thought going to the media would be a good idea, and as you can see in the comments below, most people feel they need to take responsibilities for their negligent actions.Â