By Shavonne Potts
spotts@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY — Kimberly Hamilton disputes claims her pit bull terrorized her neighborhood and says she is now advocating for pit bulls and other dog breeds.
Last week, a judge ordered Hamilton to pay court costs related to incidents that occurred in 2010 after authorities said her pit bull, Red, attacked another dog.
In another incident, officials said Red charged at off-duty Deputy Richard Hadley while he was walking his dog. The deputy shot Red in the neck. The dog survived.
In July, an appeal panel with the Rowan County Board of Health declared the dog potentially dangerous. Hamilton did not attend, though the meeting was held at her request. She said she never received notice.
Hamilton said that every time Animal Control officers came to her neighborhood, Red was in the house or in the fence in the backyard. She said a citation she received for violating the county’s leash law wasn’t for Red, but another dog she was caring for, a pit bull that belonged to her nephew.
“I learned if you were in your front yard you still had to leash your dog,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton said if Red attacked a neighbor’s pomeranian, she did not know about it. She also said Animal Control never approached her about quarantining Red.
Animal Control Office Ann Frye fined Hamilton $200 for not having a doghouse and $500 for allowing Red to be outside the kennel when he broke through a fence.
Since Hamilton didn’t agree with the citation and did not pay the fine, she was taken to court.
District Court Judge Marshall Bickett ordered Hamilton to pay the $25 fine along with court fees and attorney fees as well as $40 for subpoenas.
Bickett found her guilty of not having her nephew’s dog on a leash. He dismissed the citation for not having a doghouse, saying it was not clearly spelled out in the ordinance, and granted a prayer for judgment continued for Red being out of the kennel.
Hamilton said she wished things would’ve been handled better and her dog didn’t have to die. She believes someone poisoned him.
Hamilton is looking into developing a website to educate people about pit bulls and other dog breeds.
Pit bulls have a bad reputation, she said.
“Any dog can be an aggressive breed,” Hamilton said. “A dog protects — that’s any dog. Any dog can bite, any dog can be aggressive.”
Contact reporter Shavonne Potts at 704-797-4253.