Fatal Dog Attack Spurs Petition in Birmingham

Birmingham, MI – A 13-year-old pug named Maddie was recently mauled to death by two other dogs in a Birmingham subdivision.

According to the Birmingham Eccentric, the fatal attack prompted resident Terry Holmes, a neighbor, to start a petition drive for more animal control measures.

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Maddie’s owners were taking her on a walk June 9 when two dogs on a corner lot slipped their heads through a fence and attacked her. She died two hours later.

A police report was filed and the dog’s owner was ticketed for possession of a vicious dog and having an unlicensed dog. The owner is scheduled to appear June 22 in 48th District Court for arraignment on the two misdemeanor charges.

“The dog was bit through the fence,” Birmingham Police Cmdr. Scott Grewe said of the incident.

“The dogs were fenced in and the victim did not want to press charges or the owner held responsible — he just wanted it documented. There were no prior complaints about the dogs.”

Holmes said she was able to collect more than four pages of signatures because many of her neighbors were familiar with the two dogs.

She also said several days after the attack, the owner of the two dogs told her that he had given the dogs to a shelter. Even with the dogs gone from the neighborhood, Holmes submitted her petitions to the city on Wednesday.

City Commissioner Stuart Sherman said it's clear the residents want the city to take notice of the incident.

“From the commission’s standpoint, we won’t get involved in the actual incident because that’s a criminal matter,” Sherman said Wednesday. “But as dog owners, we sympathize with the family who lost their beloved pet. Vicious dogs or bad dog owners don’t have a place in Birmingham.”

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