[nagdu] Dog owner offers apology in attack on TriMet

[Ginger Kutsch]

Dog owner offers apology in attack on TriMet
The incident results in the death of a 7-pound companion dog at his master's feet
Wednesday, October 29, 2008 
STUART TOMLINSON
The Oregonian Staff
Leroy Morley "feels awful" that his dog killed another dog on a TriMet bus Sunday, said a man Tuesday claiming to be Morley's boss. 

TriMet officials said Marie Kelemen, 59, was sitting near the front of the No. 75-39th Ave./Lombard bus about 4:15 p.m. Sunday with a 7-pound Pomeranian named Buddy on a leash at her feet. When Morley began to exit the bus, his 50-pound Rottweiler Shar-Pei mix bit the smaller dog and broke its neck. 

A person who answered the phone at Morley's mother's house Tuesday hung up when a reporter called to ask about the attack. But Rahim Ghaffari, who said Morley is an employee of his, said the 47-year-old St. Helens man is sorry about the attack. 

Ghaffari claimed it was the first time the larger dog, Max, had bitten another dog. 

"He's a good dog -- all licensed and tagged," Ghaffari said. 

Peggy LaPoint, a TriMet spokeswoman, said the bus driver, Sherry Alcover, had asked Morley whether Max was a service or companion dog when the two boarded the bus. Alcover, 54, of Milwaukie has been a driver for five years. 

"Mr. Morley answered in the affirmative," LaPoint said. "It was only after the police came that he told them it was not." 

In a police report released Tuesday by TriMet, Morley told police he had to move the dog to a friend's house because his landlord wouldn't let him keep Max in his apartment. 

Kelemen said she has a note from her doctor designating Buddy as a companion dog, which under the Americans with Disabilities Act is enough to qualify him as a service dog. Such animals are allowed on TriMet buses and in restaurants and other places dogs aren't usually permitted. 

LaPoint said drivers are required to ask anyone who enters a bus or train with an animal whether it is a service dog, "but they can't ask what kind of service animal it is." 

A video of the incident was turned over to an investigator for Multnomah County Animal Services, said John Rowton, an animal services spokesman. But it may not add much to the investigation. 

Those who've seen the video indicate that other riders blocked the camera's view of the attack, LaPoint said. The tape does show Max, but the dog did not appear to exhibit any aggressive or violent behavior prior to the attack. 

Morley was cited by Portland Transit Police for bringing a nonservice dog on the bus, and banned from buses and trains for 30 days. He and Max could also be subject to restrictions from the county for the attack. 

Under county ordinances, dangerous dogs are classified on a scale of 1 to 4. A dog classified as a level 1 danger "shall be restrained." 

At level 4, dogs are required to be kept in a secure enclosure, and the owner must buy liability insurance. Dogs that cause even more serious injuries or death of a person, or dogs used to commit a crime can be euthanized. 

Max probably falls in a level 4 category, which means "a dog while at large: aggressively bites any person; or kills or causes the death of any domestic animal or livestock." 

"There's the rub," Rowton said. "It's not 'at large' if it's on a leash." 

Rowton said a decision on how to classify Max, and whether the dog will need to be muzzled, confined or face other sanctions, probably won't be made until next week. 

Stuart Tomlinson: 503-221-8313; stuarttomlinson@ news.oregonian.com 



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