News release
3/26/20
Submission by Patricia Walsh
More than three dozen Raton residents are petitioning the city of Raton and local court officials to immediately toughen enforcement of animal control laws and prosecute owners of loose dogs, following a dog attack that hospitalized a local woman for weeks.
“We are horrified by the bloody dog attack on a Raton woman in a public alley on March 2,” said the petition, which was signed by 38 Raton residents. “The dog mauled her head, scalp and arms, breaking both arms.”
Also signing the petition were several more area residents who live outside city limits, but work or have businesses in town. The petition, which was circulated online and on paper, asks city and local court officials to “act immediately to prevent loose dogs in Raton.”
The petition requests: that city officials make it clear “no one is above the law;” that city police and animal control officers “enforce existing laws” and “cite offenders whenever possible;” that local courts prosecute and punish offenders accordingly; that the city return to two full-time animal control officers instead of one and a half; and that city officials “recognize this situation is creating bad publicity for Raton.”
The petition was presented to Raton City Manager Scott Berry on Wednesday afternoon (editor’s note: 3-25-20). Patricia Walsh, a Raton resident representing those who circulated the petition, said she went to the City Commission at their regular meeting Tuesday night, but was unable to present the petition because of COVID-19 restrictions that prevented public comment.
Walsh said Berry told her city officials “take this situation very seriously” and that he would quickly pass on the petition to commission members and municipal court judge Roy Manfredi.
Walsh added Berry and Police Chief John Garcia also told her the city has to cope with budget constraints and limited staff, including five vacant positions at the police department. Walsh said Berry noted the city’s financial situation could worsen amid the current health crisis.
The woman attacked on March 2 was airlifted out of Raton to an Albuquerque hospital, where she underwent multiple surgeries. The petition said she “will require long-term rehabilitation for her wounds and psychological trauma.”
“If not for the intervention of the woman’s neighbors, she might easily have been killed,” it added.
One of the petition signers, town resident and businesswoman Laura Brewer, said loose dogs have been a “long-time problem for Raton.”
“How can we invite possible new residents to make Raton their home when we have dangerous dogs running loose, attacking people,” Brewer said. “I know of several who have been attacked over the years and nothing is done.”
Brewer added that she and her husband Hal “are afraid to walk our dogs on a leash in our own neighborhood or at the (Roundhouse) Memorial Park because of all the loose dogs.”
Meanwhile, Walsh said the COVID-19 crisis complicated getting petition signatures by making it not feasible to go door-to-door.
