Judge Orders Vicious Dog Euthanized

news1@ulyssesnews.com

Dogs at large are an ongoing issue in Ulysses, and at the May 5 Ulysses Municipal Court, one case involving a vicious dog went to trial and eventually resulted in the dog in question being euthanized.

The incident with the animal took place March 6 when two Pitbulls owned by Rafael Rodriguez got loose from their owner and traveled to the 800 block of North College Street, where one of the pit bulls attacked and killed a female cat as well four kittens, which were either killed or injured so badly, they were euthanized.

Animal Control Officer Anne Langston testified in the case, as well as the cat’s owner Deanna Pointer. Lawyer for Mr. Rodriguez, Clint Floyd, argued the animals did not attack the cat and Rodriguez himself said the dogs were not vicious. City attorney Lynn Koehn argued that the dogs were known to Langston to be vicious.

Municipal Court Judge Peggy Alford agreed and ordered Rodriguez to pay fines and the animal to be euthanized.

In a separate case which did not go to trial, Rodriguez appeared regarding a fourth offense for dog running-at large from last December. Two of his animals were caught, but Langston did not consider the animals to be vicious. Judge Alford ordered Rodriguez to pay a fine of $400 combined for both animals as Koehn waived the boarding fee if Rodriguez pleaded no contest and did not object to Rodriguez picking the dogs up within 24 hours of the court date. The dog at-large charges do include up to a 30-day jail sentence, and was Rodriguez was detained on those charges.

In other cases, heard by the court:

•Emilia Brown was ordered to return to court May 19 for a trial regarding dogs running at large and vicious dog.

•Mayra Escobedo pleaded guilty to dog running at large and paid a fine of $158 the same day.

•Angie Esquivel was charged with dog running at large and no rabies vaccination and was ordered back to court May 19 to make a payment.

•Lupe Hermosillo was charged with dog running at large and paid a fine of $208 the same day.

•Armando Ramirez was ordered April 8 to make a payment on his charges including no driver’s license and no liability insurance, as well as domestic battery – all from 2023 – and failed to make the payments. Judge Alford issued warrants for his arrest and he was arrested by the Ulysses Police during the court proceeding.

Look for more details on the Rodriguez trial and the results of other cases in next week’s Ulysses News.