COLERAIN TOWNSHIP, Ohio – It appears that vicious dogs were allowed to remain in a local neighborhood despite the owners’ agreement to have animal control remove them.
This discovery came after Local 12 watched body cam footage from Colerain Township police that showed the dogs brutally attacking Emily Rentschler. The dogs have been put down.
Hamilton County Animal Control said that the owners of the pit mix and Rottweiler mix had their vet put down the dogs, but people are still upset because animal control didn’t immediately remove the dogs after the attack, even though the owners had consented.
Earlier in March, a normally quiet Colerain Township neighborhood became chaotic. Rentschler was attacked by two dogs that had been accidentally let out of their backyard.
It sent her to the emergency room with shredded arms and numerous severe bites and bruises all over her body.
Local 12 spoke with Rentschler shortly after she returned from the hospital, when she discovered that Hamilton County Animal Control had not removed the dogs from the home where they escaped.
“Those dogs are still up there right now,” Rentschler confirmed. “I don’t understand it.”
That day, Local 12 went to Cincinnati Animal CARE, the county’s contracted animal control department, to find out why the dog hadn’t been removed.
“Neighbors are stunned that the dog warden wouldn’t just take those dogs,” Local 12 told Lisa Colina, a spokesperson for Cincinnati Animal CARE.
“So, the dogs are owned,” Colina explained. “So, we cannot just take owned dogs unless they are surrendered to us or we have a court order from a judge to do so.”
However, after reviewing police body camera footage released to Rentschler, it was discovered that the owners did, in fact, offer to surrender the dogs.
Here’s an excerpt from the video:
- Cop: “Are you willing to surrender your dogs?
- Owner: “That’s fine.”
- Cop: “You’re voluntarily surrendering them?”
- Owner: “Yeah.”
The Colerain police officer then immediately walks over to the animal control officer and relays that the owners agreed to give up their dogs.
- Cop: “I asked if he would surrender his dogs, he said, ‘Yes.'”
- Animal Control: “That would have to go through way above me.”
- Cop: “Can you call your boss and see if he can surrender them under severe injury?”
- Animal Control: “Yeah, I can call.”
The animal control officer talks to his supervisor — calling them “chief” — and then hangs up.
- Animal Control: “Thanks chief.”
- Cop: “What did he say?”
- Animal Control: “No.”
At a public staff meeting on Tuesday following the attack, County Commissioner Alicia Reece read a letter she received from Colerain Township trustees.
“They said ‘Colerain Township condemns.'” ‘The dog warden’s inaction and decision to let the dogs that brutally mauled one of our residents stay in the neighborhood,'” Reece read.
The county commissioners questioned Beth Ward, the chief dog warden, about why she did not remove the dogs from the home and instead allowed them to quarantine there.
“We offered to take the dogs for the owners under the quarantine period,” Ward disclosed. “But they have not agreed to that at this time.”
At the time, neither the commissioners nor Local 12 had seen the bodycam footage disputing this. It’s unclear why animal control chose not to take the dogs. Lisa Colina, a spokeswoman for Local 12, sent an email on Thursday.
“In subsequent conversations between the dog owner and Chief Ward, the owner continued to decline our offer to quarantine the dogs.”
The owners have asked Local 12 to leave them alone. Animal Control said that it did end up taking the dogs for the last five days of their quarantine before they were euthanized. Local 12 is presenting this new information to the county commissioners for their reaction.
