Dog attack in Ypsilanti Township spurs increased enforcement of animal control ordinance

But the dogs charged him, setting off a struggle that lasted for several minutes and left the 17-year-old with puncture wounds to his hands and arms.

“They were taking turns jumping for my throat and I would stab them,” said Dargay, who used a folding knife to protect himself.

The dogs ultimately quit, Dargay said, after he stabbed one in the ribs and twisted the knife when it bit his arm and refused to let go. Dargay was knocked to the ground several times and had to have 11 stitches on his left thumb after he was cut when the “locking mechanism” on his knife failed during the fight about 8:50 p.m., he said.

“I was in fear of my life, but I wasn’t about to get killed by some pits,” Dargay said. “I wasn’t gonna die like that. If somebody’s gonna have dangerous dogs, they need to be able to control them.”

Ypsilanti Township officials and Washtenaw County sheriff’s deputies are stepping up enforcement of the township’s animal control ordinance after the attack and other complaints of dogs running loose. The goal is to ensure dogs are licensed and owners are held accountable, officials said.

The pit bulls that attacked Dargay were surrendered by the couple who owned them and euthanized at the Humane Society of Huron Valley. They were not licensed and ran from an unfenced yard after being let out to go to the bathroom, said Derrick Jackson, the Sheriff Department’s director of community engagement.

It wasn’t until the dogs returned home with injuries that the owners realized they had left the property, a Sheriff’s Department incident report said. Humane Society officials said the attack occurred down the street from the home where the dogs lived. Neighbors told them the dogs had previously been allowed to roam. The Washtenaw County Prosecutor's Office continues to review the case.

“It gives us a real life example of how serious and important it is for residents to take responsibility for their own animals,” Jackson said.

Had Dargay not been wearing a thick leather jacket, he may have been more seriously injured, Jackson said.

Of an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 dogs in the township, 750 are licensed, said Michael Radzik, the township’s director of the office of community standards. Unless dogs are licensed, the township does not have evidence they have been vaccinated for rabies, Radzik said.

The owners said the dogs that attacked Dargay were "up to date,” on their shots but did not immediately show deputies the paperwork, the report said.

“In some of these cases, the victim ends up going through the rabies shots unnecessarily,” Radzik said. The dogs' owners could not be reached for comment today.

The ordinance, which was revised in September, requires that dogs that are impounded be licensed before they are released from the Humane Society. It costs $20 to license an impounded dog that is sterilized and $120 to license one that is not.

“A sterilized pit bull is less likely to be aggressive toward humans and less likely to run stray,” Radzik said.

Under the ordinance, having a nuisance dog is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail. A dog may be considered a nuisance for a number of reasons including if it frequently barks, chases a pedestrian or attacks a person or pet.

The Sheriff's Department’s two animal control officers will be the primary people enforcing the ordinance, Radzik said.

Dog licenses are $6 and available at the Township Treasurer’s Office or the Humane Society, Radzik said.

“Keep your dog under control,” he said. “Don’t let your dog run stray.”

Lee Higgins covers crime and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at (734) 623-2527 and email at leehiggins@annarbor.com.