Council rules on dangerous dog

Emotions ran high during a dangerous dog hearing at last Tuesday’s Osceola City Council meeting, as council decided what to do about a dog with four separate bite incidents.

At the start of the hearing, Osceola city administrator Ty Wheeler gave a quick background of the events that had led up to that evening’s hearing. Wheeler stated the hearing was being conducted on the recommendation of Osceola’s City Attorney, Mason McCoy pursuant to Chapter 56.06, “Seizure, Impoundment And Disposition Of Vicious Animals.” The hearing was to determine the appropriate course of action for a blue heeler named Shadow owned by Aleson Elliott of Osceola.

Prior to the hearing with council, a dangerous dog meeting/consultation was scheduled for review by Wheeler, as outlined in the city ordinance 56.06(1), with Elliott and Osceola Police Captain Curt Jacobsen.

At the time, there were three alleged incidents involving the dog:

1. Dec. 7, 2023, the dog bit a child at 226 S. Temple St., causing injuries that were treated at the emergency room.

2. June 4, 2024, the dog bit a person at 226 S. Temple St., breaking the skin on the victim’s leg.

3. Jan. 22, 2025, the dog bit a DHS worker inside of 720 Warren Ave. The bite was said to be unprovoked and without warning, and the worker required medical attention.

At the consultation, it was agreed upon by Elliott and city officials that there could be more no occurrences with the dog that would violate city code - no running at large and no more bite events. After that consultation, however, the dog bit a hotel guest at 720 Warren Ave. on March 30. The bite was said to be unprovoked and required medical attention.

Following that incident, Wheeler wrote a letter to Elliott stating the bite was a violation pursuant to their prior meeting, and the dog either needed to be surrendered or humanely disposed of. Elliott resisted, and due to conflicts of interest on Wheeler’s end, the matter was brought before council.

Elliott was given a chance to speak to the council at the hearing. She said the city wasn’t aware of what had led up to the bites, stating that in the first two instances, the dog was being abused. Wheeler acknowledged that those had been discussed at the meeting with Cpt. Jacobsen, and it had been agreed that regardless of what led to the bite, no more could happen. The dog was suggested to be confined or kenneled when around unfamiliar people. Elliott had one of her children address the fourth bite, when the dog had gotten out of their hotel room as they were trying to go in with laundry.

“Can the dog be moved?” councilman Dr. George Fotiadis asked.

Elliott said the city was only looking at the bites, not the whole picture.

“The city’s responsibility is the bites, and that’s where this came from,” Fotiadis said as Elliott continued to talk, prompting Osceola Mayor Thomas Kedley to tell Elliott to let the councilman finish. “That’s three incidents now, at least…just within the last year.”

Councilwoman Sonya Hicks acknowledged that it was a difficult situation. Hicks said the concern, however, was for public safety.

“...if a child or somebody gets hurt, possibly hugely injured or died,” Hicks said. “We are actually trying to help you save your dog…with all due respect, the options are, we either help you put the dog in a safe location [or] we euthanize.”

Elliott said that she had talked to the local vets, who she said would not put down a dog that was trauma-based. Other talking points Elliott brought up were about the alleged animal abuse that nothing had been done about and how the situation was affecting her and her children. Kedley reminded Elliott several times that the conversation was just about the dog bites and to let the council members finish speaking.

“For whatever reason, your dog has injured an innocent bystander four times. Our job is to protect the innocent bystanders, period. That’s our job,” councilman Tom Bahls said, adding the hope was that the dog could be saved by leaving city limits. “Our job is to protect the constituents of this community - this town - from a dog that has bitten [people].”

Councilwoman Luci Sullivan pointed out that the action was also being taken to protect Elliott, for if someone were to be seriously injured or killed due to the dog, Elliott would be liable.

When Elliott asked the council if they would like to see pictures or videos of the dog being good, the resounding answer was “no.”

Elliott continued to say that the council didn’t care about her feelings or what she had been through.

“Ms. Elliott, I didn’t even have to allow this to go this far. I did, and [we] didn’t have to provide options. We have,” Kedley said.

After Fotiadis motioned to declare the dog a dangerous animal and Bahls seconded, Elliott left, saying the city would be hearing from her lawyer.

The motion to declare the dog as dangerous passed unanimously.

“Our job is public safety. And it was about the dog,” Kedley said.

Minutes from the May 6 Osceola City Council meeting can be found in the legal section of this newspaper or online at the city’s website, www.osceolaia.net.