Credit: Michael Mol – Photo represents the American Bulldog breed and is not a photo of the Renze dog, Harley
There was over an hour of testimony heard last night in a vicious animal appeal hearing at the Carroll City Council meeting, stemming from an incident that occurred on May 30 of this year on N. Carroll Street. The incident did involve Carroll Chief of Police, Brad Burke, and his family, so an investigation was completed by the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office. Deputy Tom Fransen reported to the council that seven witnesses were interviewed after a three-year-old, 80-pound American Bulldog named Harley owned by Eric Renze broke free from its leash and attacked a Cheseapeake Bay Retriever on the property owned by Chief Burke and his wife, Casie. The council heard how the testimony corroborated that the Renze dog crossed the street, entered the Burke property and attacked their retriever in front of Casie and two of her children. Chief Burke described his reaction to the incident.
The Burke’s dog suffered several lacerations that required stitching and stapling, along with other scratches and bruises. After the attack was investigated, Renze was cited for housing a vicious animal under the city code. Renze, who brought an attorney with him to the hearing, expressed his belief that he and his family were not being treated fairly in this situation. His son, Landon, who was walking Harley at the time of the attack, had signed a notarized statement on Saturday, July 23, that gave a differing account to what the investigation revealed.
Renze did not bring forward any witnesses and Landon was not available to testify in the hearing, but Renze told council members he believes his son is telling the truth in his latest statement. The 13 year old wrote that the Burke dogs were aggressive and his dog was trying to protect him. He was not aware that the Burke animals were contained by an underground fencing system and he says he feared for his safety. He also claims that Burke hit the dog more than one time with the shovel, slammed it into the ground and then threatened that he would have used his gun if he had it on him. Renze also claimed he had been told falsehoods during the investigation and that his dog, Harley, suffered injuries during the altercation as well. During the hearing, council member Clay Haley asked City Attorney, David Bruner, for clarification on their role. Bruner confirmed that though they were hearing a great deal of testimony, they were only being asked to affirm or deny the vicious dog designation under the current city code. The council unanimously affirmed the vicious dog citation. The Renze family will have three days to permanently remove Harley from the city limits after official notice of the council decision is received.
