Animal regulators should do their job

I was interested in the story in the Camarillo Acorn about the pit bull attack in Camarillo and was moved by fury to write this letter. I have long found Kathy Jenks, director of Ventura County Animal Regulation, to be an insufferable bureaucrat, but she has taken the cake on this one.

She doesn't seem to realize that her primary duty should be to protect the public from vicious animals.

This dog was unleashed and prowling the neighborhood late at night, charged across the street and attacked an innocent dog for no reason, was hurling itself at a plate glass window, had to be pepper-sprayed by police, dragged an adult man across the pavement, and the director of Animal Regulation saw no reason that the dog needed to be regulated.

Instead, she sent it back to the neighborhood because it had a license, up-to-date vaccinations and was tied up and not in violation of leash laws when animal control officers arrived.

Further, our fearless chief dogcatcher says, "if this dog is animal-aggressive, and that's yet to be determined." How much proof do you need, Ms. Jenks? And while we're at it, the dog appears to have proved it is peopleaggressive, too. It is unconscionable that this beast was returned to the neighborhood, whose residents appear to be altering their lifestyles to avoid this dog.

From there, Ms. Jenks goes into her usual predictable litany of how the victim of a dog attack must wade through volumes of paperwork and forms to file a complaint, even intimating that the couple was negligent because "the officers explained that to the couple," and they took no action.

Someone needs to bring some accountability to the Animal Regulation Department. In the meantime, if one of these dogs eats a child, as they are known to do, I hope Kathy Jenks will never get another good night's sleep. Patricia Shelton Camarillo