Girls get shots; dog is missing

Families say they were never notified the dog was no longer in quarantine.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
BROOKFIELD -- Two 10-year-old girls are undergoing a series of rabies shots after the dog that attacked them was reportedly stolen from the Trumbull County Dog Pound.
"That dog could bite another child," said Randy Purdie of Farrell, Pa., whose daughter, Kayla, has started the shots at Sharon Regional Health System's hospital.
"We know the severity of this problem," James Shamrock, deputy dog warden, said Friday.
Doreen Gregory of Brookfield said a dog had bitten her daughter, Ashley, on Sept. 5. She called township police, who helped catch the dog.
Purdie and his ex-wife, Mary Peters of State Line Road, told Shamrock their daughter was bitten about the same time near her State Line Road home, which is about three blocks from the Gregory home.
On Tuesday, Purdie said he called the pound to check on the dog because it was being quarantined for 10 days to determine if it had rabies.
Purdie asserted that Shamrock informed him that the dog was not rabid. He said Shamrock then told him the dog had been stolen.
What parents said
Peters quoted Shamrock as telling her: "I wouldn't put my child through all of that [rabies shots]. We haven't had a rabies epidemic since 1946."
Gregory also said somebody at the pound told her to wait the 10 days before getting the injections.
Shamrock said Friday that he didn't tell the parents not to have the injections. "That's not protocol here."
Shamrock said dogs that bite remain at the pound for 10 days to determine if they are rabid.
"How would they know the dog wasn't rabid? The dog hadn't been there for 10 days," Gregory said.
Shamrock said the dog -- a black chow with some brown coloring -- "seemed fine," and exhibited no abnormal behavior before it was taken.
Shamrock said the dog was in the Anderson Avenue pound in Howland last Saturday morning. The animal was reported missing early Monday.
He explained that somebody broke the gate leading to the pen that is both inside and outside the pound. The padlock on the gate wasn't broken.
Police contacted
Shamrock said he contacted Howland police to take a report of the break-in. Brookfield police and Trumbull County Health Department also were notified.
Purdie said that when he contacted Shamrock on Tuesday, Shamrock didn't respond when asked why the families weren't notified the dog was missing.
Purdie said Shamrock told him the dog wasn't sick after two days and "don't put the kids through that [shots]."
Shamrock said he believes the dog was stolen by its owner.
Gregory said she thinks the dog either escaped from the pound or was destroyed by mistake.
yovich@vindy.com