Couple confronts Moses Lake about dog's death
Jane Cybulski sits in her Moses Lake home with Princess, one of two Pomeranians she owned before the other, Ozzy, was killed by another dog Dec. 5. She and her husband Larry want to see the city change its dog ordinance to prevent similar attacks in the future.
MOSES LAKE - Jane Cybulski still fights back tears when retelling the events surrounding the violent death of her pet.
Cybulski was collecting aluminum cans around her Moses Lake neighborhood on the afternoon of Dec. 5 while walking her two Pomeranians. She says she knocked on the door of a residence on South Grand Drive to ask if she could pick up some cans she saw in the side yard. When the door opened, a pit bull reportedly lunged forward and mauled one of her dogs, Ozzy.
"All of a sudden I heard a big bark and a dog came right up to the door where the woman was and burst through, knocking me down to the ground and killing my little Pomeranian that I loved so much," Cybulski told the Moses Lake City Council. "He was my life, he did everything with me."
She and her husband, Larry Cybulski, visited the council as part of a twofold campaign - first, to urge city action in their situation and, secondly, to prompt the city council to make policy changes they say could help prevent similar incidents in the future.
"You don't expect to knock on someone's door and have a pit bull charge you," Jane Cybulski said. "The woman didn't maintain her pet. It brutally mauled my dog, pulled it out of my arms and broke its neck. I just ask the city to make people more responsible for their pets. I would never ever want anyone to go through what I went through that day."
The Cybulskis allege that after the attack the pit bull's owner or custodian loaded the dog in a van and fled the scene in order to keep animal control from impounding the dog. The dog was turned in the following day and is now being quarantined at the animal shelter, but Larry Cybulski feels the city should enact a policy making it a civil infraction to remove or hide an animal following acts of aggression.
"We feel the quarantine process, that's in place now, doesn't do enough to protect citizens," he said. "Taking the dog from the scene should be grounds for forfeiture to the city and the city should either euthanize the dog or, if they don't feel that's appropriate in the case, relocate the dog and the owner should not be allowed to seek custody of the dog."
Larry Cybulski also asked the council to consider amending the municipal code and require dog owners to secure pets behind a screen door or display a sign warning a dog is on the premises.
He and his wife made it clear they weren't targeting pit bulls as a breed, but wanted a city ordinance to protect citizens from any potentially aggressive dog.
He also asked the city to make the quarantine process more transparent, including possibly running a notice in the newspaper whenever a dog is impounded following an act of aggression.
"It's been hard to figure out what's going to happen to the dog that killed our pet," he said.
Councilman Dick Deane agreed, saying better communication might help the Cybulskis through the healing process.
"That would give us credibility and it would certainly alleviate some of the concerns that the people who have been offended are feeling," he said.
After seeking legal advice last week, Jane Cybulski opted to file a $5,000 claim for damages against the city. Larry Cybulski explained they may choose to waive the claim, but took the action to make it easier to file a civil action against the city after 60 days if nothing is done to rectify their situation.
"This doesn't mean we're going to go forward full force. We're waiting to see what the city does," he said, adding he and his wife may still file civil damages against the owner of the pit bull.
Moses Lake Police Chief Dean Mitchell said police have cited the pit bull owner for harboring a vicious animal and failure to license the dog.
The Cybulski's dogs were also unlicensed at the time of the attack.
"We want (the pit bull) either destroyed or removed from the city limits," Mitchell said. "We filed with the municipal court and from this point it's up to the city attorney."
City Attorney Katherine Kenison told council members this week the city is processing the incident with "what tools we have available."
On a more broad scale, she suggested the council should take the Cybulski's comments into consideration when drafting any future changes to the current animal control ordinance.
"As you know from past experience, animal control is a difficult area right now for multiple jurisdictions because there are strong feelings both by dog owners and by people who are the victims of various types of dog incidents," she said.
"We just hope the city can find something to help other people in this situation," Larry Cybulski said.