KANNAPOLIS, N.C. — A volatile issue has been brewing in a Kannapolis neighborhood for some time now.
The issue involves two neighbors, several dogs, and a little girl who can’t play in her own yard.
As a dog owner, it’s your responsibility to make sure your dogs are fenced in and on the leash as most cities and towns have leash laws to protect other people.
In this story, we are looking at your responsibility as a dog owner and your rights as a neighbor if someone’s dogs are off-leash.
Multiple dogs are the issue, different breeds, roaming off-leash and off property for Fred Herrman. Herrmann said he’s sick of it and said they’re not his dogs. He doesn’t want them on his property, which is where plenty of videos were taken.
“Is the dog going to be at the bottom of the steps, am I going to see it as I get in my truck, is this the day we’re going to get bit," said Herrmann.
Herrmann said he can’t let his little granddaughter out to play as he said the dogs have shown, in his opinion, aggressive behavior on his property.
“That’s it, it would be over with. She is two years old and she is small, they would kill her,” Herrmann said.
Records show Herrmann called animal services multiple times over the last two years. Officers have visited the dog’s owners multiple times, and yes, the owners have been cited.
"Per the supervisor of the officers, yes, one was deemed a “Public Nuisance” and the other dog was signed over to the facility," wrote Crystal Carter from Rowan County Animal Services. Herrmann said despite all the visits and citations, it keeps happening, and he doesn’t want the past to become the future, for his family, it’s personal.
“When our daughter, she’s now 28, but when she was 1, she was attacked by a dog and her face was just about ripped off. She is permanently scarred for the rest of her life, from here all the way around to here, from a dog attack” Herrmann said.
Photos of Herrmann’s daughter from 27 years ago saw massive scarring after she was attacked by a neighbor’s dog. Today, the scars still visible, and the worry for his granddaughter now very real.
“I have stepped in between them to make sure my granddaughter has gotten in the house, and we shouldn’t have to live like that,” said Herrmann.
So, it raises the question, if you’re a dog owner, what is your responsibility, and your liability, if your dog, no matter the breed, bites someone off-leash and off property?
“One of the biggest myths in North Carolina and in most other states is that you get the one free bite rule, and I am here to tell you that it’s just a myth.
If you have reason to think that your bog might bite somebody or even a family member, then you are on notice that your dog is a danger to the community and that you have an obligation to restrain that animal and if you don’t, you’re going end up paying for it.
After WCNC made calls to Rowan County Animal Control and made public record requests on this specific incident, and after more officer visits and more citations, at least one of the dogs was surrendered.
WCNC tried reaching the dog’s owner by phone but the numbers the Defenders had didn’t work, and because of company COVID-19 restrictions a reporter was unable to go there in person to ask questions.
These dog issues tend to pop up from time to time and the liability for you if you own a dog, especially one considered an aggressive breed, can be real. Some homeowner’s insurance won’t insure specific breeds of dogs and may not cover a claim if you don’t notify them that you have such a breed or if your dog has bitten someone in the past.