A dog owner is grieving following an attack in Cambria that resulted in his dog's death and left him with permanent injuries. Howard Vallens says he’s hoping more can be done to keep this from happening to someone else.
Vallens has called Cambria home for the past 31 years and loves where he lives.
He says that on March 9, he was walking his 12-year-old dog Zeke on a leash, like he does several times a week, when another dog ran into the street toward his terrier mix.
“I tried to pick him up and was bitten on my finger by that point and then this dog took Zeke around the neck and chomped around his neck,” Vallens said.
Vallens says the attack lasted about eight to nine minutes, adding that several neighbors heard his screams and rushed to help, but it was too late.
“Zeke had to be taken to Atascadero Pet Center where he died of his injuries two days later,” Vallens said.
As a result of the attack, Vallens is now missing the top part of his index finger. He says now, his main focus is awareness.
“I’m trying to prevent others from having to suffer the grief of losing their animal from a dog attack. I believe this particular dog will attack again,” Vallens said.
I reached out to San Luis Obispo County Animal Services, requesting information on all reports related to the dog, named Star, and any previous attacks. Only the March attack was in the documents I received.
However, a woman in Los Osos claims Star has attacked before. Sally Budd says the incident with her dog happened in July 2022.
“Basically, Star had broken through the fence and Star had grabbed him by her mouth and pulled him through by his chest. He had bite wounds all over both sides of his legs, chest. He had bite wounds on his back,” Budd described.
Animal Services says they never received a report of the attack.
Budd says she took her dog to the vet and assumed the incident would be reported. More than a year later, after calling Animal Services to report a different incident in which she says Star broke through her fence, she learned there was no prior documentation.
“I called Animal Services and reported it and had also mentioned the prior incident and they had no record of it,” Budd said.
“When that complaint was filed, the reporting party made an anecdotal statement to the animal services dispatcher alleging similar events had occurred at least three times in the past with her dog sustaining an unspecified injury in one of those previous, unreported, and undocumented incidents,” said Eric Anderson, Director of Animal Services.
Documents I received from Animal Services show an indefinite confinement order was issued for Star almost a month after Vallen’s dog was attacked in Cambria.
I asked Anderson how many written reports against an animal are needed before steps can be taken to determine whether a dog is a threat to public safety.
Anderson said there is no singular standard and each case is evaluated individually.
Vallens wants more to be done.
"Especially if it's killed a dog and/or harmed a person that it would warrant enough to have a hearing so that this dog could be evaluated in terms of whether it's safe enough in order to be allowed to have freedom or subject to certain conditions like muzzles or certain leashes," Vallens said.
Anderson says any corrective or punitive actions taken by Animal Services must be founded on documented reports and evidence. "For this reason," he said, "Animal Services encourages any individual involved in an encounter involving an aggressive or threatening animal to report that incident promptly and contemporaneously.”
I called and left messages for Star’s owner four times this week but have not received a response.
Vallens says the owner came out a few minutes after the attack, but he has not heard from her since.
“I haven’t been contacted by the owner. There’s never been any apology that’s offered,” Vallens said.
“There are constant triggers throughout the day when I see toys, when I see where my dog used to come to me, where I see where Zeke was in the house. You’re constantly being reminded of a pet you no longer have," he added.
