Judge Orders Vicious Dog Euthanized

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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 resulted in the dog in question being euthanized.

The incident with the animal took place March 6, when two male Pitbulls owned by Rafael Rodriguez and Emilia Brown 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 as 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.

The initial call was made to an address on Ulysses Parkway, but the animals were not at that location by the time Langston arrived. She said she drove around and eventually located the two dogs on the 800 block of North College Street, with one of the pits standing over a dead cat on the front lawn of a residence.

“They (the dogs) both had scratches on their chest and their heads,” Langston said, and both dogs had blood on their legs and paws.

Pointer said she did not see or hear anything that happened, only identifying the cat as belonging to her. Pointer kept the adult cat to bury on her own, and Langston took the four kittens to be euthanized.

Pointer said she had never seen Rodriguez before the court proceeding and had not incurred any expenses as a result of the attack.

Langston took the dogs into custody shortly before Rodriguez and Brown arrived to ask Langston if she had seen the animals. She told Rodriguez the dogs had attacked another animal and issued a citation.

City Attorney Lynn Koehn asked Langston if she had prior encounters with the animals, and she said she has had multiple encounters with the dogs.

“It was one prior vicious dog and multiple dog-at-large,” Langston said.

The lawyer for Rodriguez, Clint Floyd, argued the animals did not attack the cat and Rodriguez himself, said the dogs were not vicious. The dogs had escaped from a kennel in their yard, and while the scratches on one of the dogs could have been caused by a cat, Floyd asked if the scratches could have been caused by a metal object such as the kennel, and Langston said possibly.

“But the puncture wounds that were along with it led me to believe they were cat scratches and bites,” Langston said.

Floyd tried to establish the distance from where the dogs were kept in relation to where the incident took place and Langston said about three-quarters of a mile. Floyd also asked if there were any other dog-at-large calls that day and Langston said there were not.

The dogs were 60 and 75 pounds, and the cat was 10 pounds.

“We believe a 10-pound cat put up a heck of a fight with two dogs?” Floyd asked.

“I would say it didn’t last very long,” Langston replied. “Enough to cause injuries (to the dogs), but from the extent of the cat’s injuries, I think it was more just one bite, and it was over.”

Rodriguez said he never had issues with the dog accused of killing the cat.

“I’ve walked all my dogs around town without leashes,” Rodriguez said. “I go in stores and never had issues with them at all, ever.

“Everybody in town knows my dogs.”

Rodriguez said when he walks the dogs, they do not bother animals and when he goes inside a store, the dogs will wait outside and not bother anybody.

“They’ve always been good dogs,” Rodriguez said, adding he has trained them to not be vicious and to not fight other animals.

Rodriguez described the dogs at Bullies, which is a breed of Pitbull. Bullies have pit blood in their ancestry, but they are their own registered breed, bred to be good around children and other animals.

“There’s a big difference between a Pitbull and a Bully,” Rodriguez said. “There’s a big difference - their temperament, their nature, their demeanor, the way they are around families. They’re bred specifically to be “Nanny Dogs” and take care of children and families.”

He said he was surprised when he was issued a citation because he says his Bullies are well-behaved.

Koehn asked if he had ever been issued a citation by the city because it attacked other dogs.

“Yes, falsely accused, yes,” Rodriguez admitted.

“You don’t think your dogs being at large constitutes having issues with your dogs?” Koehn asked.

Rodriguez said his dogs don’t harm other dogs.

“If they were gonna harms dogs or cats, there’s many, many right there in the Subway area,” Rodriguez said. “They wouldn’t have run all the way across town.”

“You’re telling the court you don’t believe these dogs killed these five cats?” Koehn asked. “They just happened to show up at the wrong place and the wrong time and five dead cats they didn’t kill.”

Rodriguez said the scratches don’t match and his dogs didn’t kill the cats.

In his closing argument, Koehn said he understood nobody saw the dogs kill the cats, but they were at large at a location they didn’t have permission to be at.

“The circumstantial evidence is just overwhelming,” Koehn said.

Floyd asked Rodriguez be found not guilty, because the scratches do not match, there are individual scratches but not five scratch marks indicative of five claws from a cat fighting for its life.

“I don’t think the evidence quite warrants,” Floyd said. “I think these dogs were present, yes. Did they come upon that and sniff and see what’s there? Absolutely, they are dogs.

“But we don’t see dripping blood, we don’t see anything crazy. It’s one of those cases in which I feel really, really sorry for Miss Pointer; I know Miss Pointer from a long time ago. I hate to see this happened.”

But Floyd said the evidence did not line up and the photographs tell a different story.

Municipal Court Judge Peggy Alford said this was the fourth case it has heard regarding the dogs.

“I still find due to circumstantial evidence that this dog is a vicious dog and find it guilty, as well. Alford said.

The judge ordered Rodriguez to pay $825 in fines and the animal be euthanized.

In other cases, heard by the court:

•Christina Rivas was ordered to return to court to make a payment regarding several dog-at-large and no rabies vaccination charges dating as far back as 2022. The dogs do not belong to Rivas, but she has been paying the fines on behalf of her son.

•Nicole Valdez was ordered to return to court May 19 to continue paying her fines for a 2024 charge of driving without a license.

•Jesus Mange Garcia pleaded not guilty to a theft charge from April 6 and a June 2 trial date was set.

•Brenda Galindo was charged with no driver’s license April 20 and paid a fine of $308.

•Christina Valtierra was charged with two dogs at-large April 19 and made a promise to pay the $308 fine by June 16.

•Michael Valdez was charged with driving with a suspended license, reckless driving and criminal damage to property April 14, to which he pleaded not guilty and filled out paperwork for a court-appointed attorney.

•Letitia Lopez was charged with no liability insurance April 15, but said she does have insurance but doesn’t have proof due to other circumstances. She was ordered to return to court May 19.

•Judith Galvin was charged with having vehicle repairs done at her residence February 3, which is against city ordinance. The judge gave her time to come into compliance and ordered her to return June 16.