0776RESOLUTION NO. 776
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
ROLLING HILLS SETTING FORTH FINDINGS OF FACT AND
UPHOLDING THE ORDER OF THE CITY MANAGER TO
REQUIRE THE CONFINEMENT OF A DOG, OWNED BY MR.
AND MRS. BURT ARNOLD, TO THE OWNER'S PROPERTY
LOCATED AT 2 SPUR LANE
THE CITY COUNCIL DOES HEREBY FIND, DETERMINE AND ORDER AS
FOLLOWS:
Section 1. On February 13, 1996, the City Council held a public hearing on
an appeal filed by Mr. and Mrs. Burt Arnold (the dog owners) of the City Manager's
findings and determination made pursuant to Rolling Hills Municipal Code Section
6.24.020 that the owner's dog, a male Rottweiler named "Sluggo," attacked and killed
another animal and should be confined to the owner's property.
Section 2. The chronology of basic facts that gave rise to the appeal are as
follows:
A. On Saturday, January 13, 1996, Dr. Duncan McBride and his wife
Michelle McBride discovered two of their goats had apparently been killed in an attack.
Mrs. McBride stated that she saw two Rottweiler dogs and one Golden Retriever dog
standing over one of the dead goats. Mrs. McBride detained both Rottweiler dogs and
summoned Mr. Arnold to the site. At the site, Mr. Arnold identified his dog, Sluggo, as
being one of the two dogs detained.
B. On January 17, 1996, Mrs. McBride filed an affidavit with the City of
Rolling Hills stating that three dogs broke into a caged pen and together attacked and killed
both goats. Her affidavit states that blood, open wounds and fresh saliva were found at the
necks, belly and legs of the goats and that the three dogs were found by Mrs. McBride
standing over one of the goats. Mrs. McBride took pictures of the two deceased goats.
C. On January 18, 1996, Ms. Helen Bosaz, an officer with the SPCA, the
City's animal control agency, prepared, at the City Manager's behest, an "incident report"
relating Mrs. McBride's statements and findings as set forth in paragraphs A and B above.
On that same date, Ms. Bosaz left a "Courtesy Notice" with Mr. Arnold that summarized
the facts surrounding the incident.
D. On January 23, 1996, Mrs. McBride notified the SPCA that Mr. Arnold's
dog was again on the McBride's property with another Rottweiler dog named Grettel
owned by Dr. Laurence David and a Golden Retriever dog.
E. On January 24, 1996, the City Manager sent Mr. Arnold a letter that
contained the City Manager's determination that the statements in the Affidavit were true
and that, pursuant to Rolling Hills Municipal Code, the dog must be restricted and
restrained on Mr. Arnold's property at all times.
F. On February 1, 1996, Mr. Arnold wrote a letter to the City Manager
objecting to the City Manager's determination and the manner in which the issue had
been addressed by the City. He requested to appeal the matter to the City Council. In
response, the City Manager set the matter for hearing before the City Council on Tuesday,
February 13, 1996.
Section 3. Notice of the February 13, 1996 hearing on the appeal was
provided to Mr. Arnold at 2 Spur Road, Rolling Hills by certified mail and first class mail.
Section 4. On Tuesday, February 13, 1996, the City Council held a duly
noticed hearing on Mr. Arnold's appeal to the City Manager's determination that Sluggo
must be confined to the Arnold property. Attending the hearing were Mr. and Mrs.
Arnold. Also in attendance were Dr. and Mrs. McBride, other neighbors, and Officer Bosaz,
Sgt. Herrington and Lt. Buck of the SPCA.
Resolution No. 776 - 1 -
Section 5. Based upon the oral and written evidence in the record, including
the statements made during the hearing on appeal, the City Council makes the following
findings:
A. Sluggo was one of three dogs found on the McBride's property at the
time the goats were first found to be dead on the morning of January 13, 1996. The
discovery of the dead goats was preceded by Mrs. McBride hearing a "ruckus" involving
animal noises and then Mrs. McBride running to the site of the incident to see Sluggo and
two other dogs standing immediately adjacent to, or on top of, one of the dead goats.
B. The evidence supports the conclusion that the two Rottweiler dogs
detained by Mrs. McBride on the morning of the incident were two out of three of the dogs
she initially found on or near the dead goats. Mr. Arnold does not dispute that when he
was called to retrieve his dog, he acknowledged that one of the dogs detained on the
McBride property was in fact Sluggo.
C. The dead goats, as shown in photographs taken of their bodies, were
found to have puncture wounds in their necks, bellies and legs and fresh saliva around
each wounded area. These wounds indicate that the most likely cause of death was from
an attack by another animal or animals rather than, as Dr. David asserted, an accident
caused by the goats attempting to jump over a fence or some other self-inflicted injury.
D. Statements were made by Mr. Arnold and Dr. David to the effect that
the goats could have been killed by other dogs or wildlife earlier that morning. However,
the evidence of a "ruckus" immediately before Mrs. McBride came to the site of the goats,
indicates that Sluggo and the other two dogs were the animals most likely to have been
involved in the attack of the goats. Evidence was also submitted that on January 23, 1996,
Sluggo was again seen on the McBride property with Dr. David's dog attempting to break
into a goat pen. This evidence indicates a propensity for Sluggo to come on the McBride's
property and a strong likelihood that Sluggo was involved in the attack of the goats on
January 13, 1996.
E. Evidence was presented from Mr. Arnold that Sluggo has not displayed
hostile or aggressive behavior around various family members, friends, workers or other
people who come to the Arnold residence and thus could not have taken part in the
killing of the McBride's goats. However, there is evidence in the record that this non-
aggressive behavior does not extend to situations when Sluggo is off the Arnold property
and is allowed to run in a pack with one or more other dogs.
F. Substantial evidence was submitted that Sluggo does exhibit aggressive
behavior to people; vehicles, horses and other animals when Sluggo is off the Arnold
property. Dr. and Mrs. McBride both stated that they had seen Sluggo with Dr. David's dog
Grettel on several occasions within the neighborhood. A letter was submitted from Mr.
Kenneth M. Thomas indicating that he had witnessed two Rottweiler dogs running in a
pack on several occasions in the last year, and that these dogs evidence a "pack mentality"
of hostility and aggressive behavior to horses and vehicles on Portuguese Bend Road and
Ranchero Road. A letter from Paige Dyer indicated that two Rottweiler dogs were seen
chasing after cars in the area. A letter from Julie Virjee indicated that she saw two
Rottweiler dogs attempting to rip the roof off a "bunny hutch" in her yard. A letter from
Gina Lanman indicated that she witnessed two Rottweiler dogs running after her car and
gnashing at the tires on her vehicle. An affidavit was filed with the City by Ms. Marian
Busia indicating that two Rottweiler dogs, one owned by Dr. Laurence David and the other
owned by Mr. Burt Arnold, tried to jump and bite her. The City Council does not find that
each of the events related in this paragraph were in fact committed by Sluggo. However,
the City Council finds that the identification by the McBrides as having found Sluggo on
their property on January 13, 1996 and again on January 23, 1996 in a pact with two other
dogs, one of which was another Rottweiler named Grettel, provides strong evidence that
Sluggo may have committed those other incidents and does display aggressive behavior
when running in a pack.
Section 6. Based upon the oral and written evidence in the record of this
matter and the findings contained in Section 5 of this Resolution, the City Council
determines that there is substantial evidence in the record to find that the male Rottweiler
dog owned by Mr. and Mrs. Arnold, and known by the name of Sluggo, did attack and kill
one or more goats on the McBride property on January 13, 1996.
Resolution No. 776 - 2 -
1
Based on this finding, the City Council upholds the decision of the City
Manager issued on January 24, 1996 and, pursuant to Rolling Hills Municipal Code Section
6.24.020, determines and orders that the subject dog be kept retained and restrained on the
owner's property except when on a leash held by a person capable of controlling the dog.
Section 7. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Resolution and
shall transmit a copy to all interested parties.
PASSED, APPROVED and ADOPTED, this 26th day of February, 1996.
Go Pernell, D.S.
Mayor
ATTEST:
Marilyn L. Kern
Deputy City Clerk
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) SS
CITY OF ROLLING HILLS )
The foregoing Resolution No. 776 entitled:
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
ROLLING HILLS SETTING FORTH FINDINGS OF FACT AND
UPHOLDING THE ORDER OF THE CITY MANAGER TO
REQUIRE THE CONFINEMENT OF A DOG, OWNED BY MR.
AND MRS. BURT ARNOLD, TO THE OWNER'S PROPERTY
LOCATED AT 2 SPUR LANE
was approved and adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council on February 26, 1996, by
the following roll call vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Heinsheimer, Hill, Lay and Mayor Pernell.
NOES: None.
ABSENT: Mayor Pro Tem Murdock.
ABSTAIN: None.
Resolution No. 776 - 3 -
Marilyn L. kern
Deputy City Clerk