A continuing problem on West Lincoln Ave, West McKinley Ave and South Mounds St. with unrestrained dogs attacking pedestrians and postmen has residents worried.
More than a year ago, Weather Sapulpa wrote about one canine offender in particular, a pit bull named Kevin. Over a period of nearly 13 months, Kevin attacked seven different people. The latest attack involved the postman on this route. Kevin was eventually declared a nuisance and was euthanized.
Yet the problem persists. There are two pit bulls who live in the 200 block of South Mounds, seemingly unrestrained, and are allowed to run free.
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Daryl Howard, a nearby resident, told the Weather Sapulpa “I documented one of two pit bulls leaving the yard and chasing a cyclist down the street; he was riding down the street, he had a bike next to him that he was carrying, he had something else attached to the bike. Howard described the cyclist as “distracted and unable to steer, balance and attend to all the things he was trying to do on the street”.
He said that when the dog reached him, the cyclist “sort of exploded into a mess”. Howard’s wife says she saw an incident where a pit bull ran out of the South Mounds yard and chased a pedestrian down the sidewalk. In both attacks, the owner called the dog, which retreated to his yard. Last week, a USPS employee walking down the sidewalk of Mounds St. was visibly shaken by an unrestrained, aggressively barking pit bull.
The Weather Sapulpa reached out to Pete Sellers, director of Sapulpa Animal Control, for comment on the pit bull situation in Howard’s neighborhood. “One of the dogs is chained to a tree in the front yard,” he said. “They (the animal control officers) have pictures where they went to see them and checked them. They’re chained to a tree in the front yard and he reaches their front door… I know one of the dogs we picked up before.
Weather Sapulpa walked past the residence on the evening of September 22 and photographed a pit bull in the yard without a leash or chain.
The situation is not limited to pit bulls. According to locals, a pair of Great Danes who live on the 100 block of West McKinley Ave have escaped the confines of their yard numerous times.
On May 22, 2022, one of the Great Danes ran out onto the street where a close neighbor and her son were walking their Corgis. Although the dog did not physically make contact with the woman, she was afraid the animal would attack one of the little Corgis. In the process of herding her dogs away, she fell and hit her head on the pavement, requiring a trip to the emergency room. Weather Sapulpa interviewed Stevie and John Cottrell, the mother and son involved in the Great Dane attack.
Ms Cottrell said she no longer walked their dogs after the attack because ‘you never know what you’re going to get’, she said. “I spoke with the owner, she gave me her word that they were going to be restrained from now on. A few weeks later my daughter and son were walking dogs, they were outside our house and the Great Danes rushed at them.
His son John said: ‘I went a few weeks later (after the initial attack) with my sister around the block and (you know) the house with the guy who does the Christmas lights? They have four dogs in the back and two of them are starting to scale a fence. Two meters away they start climbing over the fence, I’m like “uh oh, that’s not good”, so I started to take off and my sister was walking normally with her dog. I picked mine up… I have a rule if the dog climbs a fence to get to you, that’s not a good sign.
Ms. Cottrell also mentioned that a pit bull on the corner of Poplar Street and Lincoln Avenue was loose on one of her walks and chased her dogs. This same dog attacked another neighbor who wishes to remain anonymous.
Weather Sapulpa contacted the local postmaster for comment on the dog situation and was referred to public relations. Becky Hernandez, public spokesperson for the USPS released the following statement:
“The United States Postal Service takes the safety of our employees and the safety of the community we serve very seriously. We apologize for any inconvenience that may have been experienced by our customers at Sapulpa. Although our letter carriers are vigilant and dedicated, we are sometimes forced to stop mail delivery to an address if our employee is threatened by a vicious dog. Postal Service guidelines provide various solutions to the problem of loose dogs, which could include temporarily suspending delivery. We consider all actions on a case-by-case basis. If a postman feels threatened by a vicious dog or if a dog is on the loose, the owner may be asked to collect mail from the post office until the carrier is satisfied that the animal has been subdued. If the dog is wandering around the neighborhood, neighbors of the pet owner may also be asked to pick up their mail at the post office. The Postal Service is always looking to restore mail delivery as quickly as possible, as long as our carriers can do so safely. The local Post Office reports a recent increase in incidents with dogs, handling 1-3 per week in recent weeks. In this particular situation, the postmaster is working with a specific resident to resolve the most recent issue. »