Woman to be tried for allegedly owning vicious dogs

Her family’s four dogs were killed. Two of them were shot by a Roswell Animal Control Officer. The third dog was found by animal control and euthanized.

The fourth dog returned to its residence later and was turned over to Animal Control by the woman. It was also euthanized.

That owner, Danielle Tavarez, is being charged with four counts pertaining to each of her dogs, two adults and two puppies. The adult dogs were ages two and four.

Each violation Section 4-54 of the Roswell Municipal Code can include a $100 fine with no jail time and is a code violation.

She has pleaded not guilty to all charges, which were filed the same day of the incident by the prosecuting officer, Animal Control Officer Sebastian Shultz.

The pit bull-mix dogs — two adults and two puppies — escaped from their home in the 1500 block of South Monroe Avenue early Feb. 7.

An animal control officer with the city of Roswell arrived in the area that morning and found the four dogs as well as a fifth dog, “all with blood on their faces,” according to a memo written by Shultz, who was also the first animal control officer to spot and approach the dogs.

The fifth dog, not owned by Tavarez and also described as a pit-bull mix but with brown fur, appeared to be the victim of an attack by the other four dogs. It was injured but still alive as of the following day. City officials had no further or subsequent information about the fifth dog’s condition.

In the city memo dated Feb. 14, Shultz wrote that he approached the dogs “with my issued shotgun due to the viscous (sp) behavior the dogs were presently exhibiting and the number of them.”

Schultz stated that he was able to stop the dog fight by yelling at the dogs and kicking one of them “in an attempt to get them to release the fifth dog they were trying to pull out of its yard.”

Then two of the dogs began barking at him and coming at him.

He wrote that “… both of the dogs were attempting to bite at my legs” and “one bit at my left boot.”

As this was going on, the other two dogs were spotted by another animal control officer who was driving up to the scene of the incident. That second officer made a radio call to Shultz warning him that the other two dogs were coming at him from behind.

Shultz shot the pair in front of him, injuring them, then shot both of those dogs again to ease their suffering.

The second pair of dogs ran away after hearing the shotgun noise. He and another animal control officer began searching for the dogs and found one of them.

That dog was euthanized.

The neighbor who reported the dogs being loose had come in contact with them before the incident with animal control. Shultz wrote that the dogs pushed at and bit the woman, leaving her with bruises.

Tavarez said in a phone interview that she doesn’t understand why the city is pursuing such a harsh penalty — especially since she cooperated when asked by the animal control officer to turn over one of the dogs to Animal Services if it made its way home.

She left the last surviving dog with the city to avoid breaking her children’s hearts, she said.

It too was euthanized.

Tavarez wasn’t home at the time of the incident. Other family members had also left the house and her husband wasn’t in town when it all happened.

She said she was out for about 30 minutes running some early-morning errands. She return home to find the gate of the residence open and said she has no idea how the gate became open so the dogs were able to escape. Not knowing what had happened, she also started searching for the dogs around the neighborhood.

Tavarez said she believe she and her family already have received the worst possible punishment: “We’ve lost all four of our dogs,” she said mournfully.

The four gray dogs with white markings had been friendly and not aggressive, even with strangers, she remembered.

She also hadn’t heard about the condition of the fifth dog which she hoped was OK.

Tavarez said at that time she hadn’t yet been able to tell her children that the dogs had died. She told them they all ran away.

And she wondered if there was any other way the dogs could have been approached besides by shooting at them with a firearm.

“I don’t want something like this to happen to someone else,” Tavarez said.

New Mexico state law pertaining to ownership for vicious animals can call for a maximum penalty of up $500 and up to 90 days in jail and is considered a fourth-degree felony.

Deputy City Attorney Christopher J. Nairn-Mahan stated in an email about the local incident that in his experience “the court will not seriously consider incarcerating a first-time offender for an animal control violation unless there are serious aggravating circumstances which do not appear to represent in this case.”

The City Attorney’s office would only become involved in this type of case if the officer asked for assistance or if the defendant is represented by counsel.

Nairn-Mahan also noted that the code, for example, addresses how an animal control officer can proceed while out in the field when they determine a dog to be vicious.

“In the event that such officer reasonably determines that the vicious dog cannot be safely apprehended and constitutes an immediate danger to any person or domesticated animal, the officer is authorized to destroy such dog immediately without further notice to any responsible party.”

Tavarez’s trial is set for March 23 in Roswell Municipal Court. She said that she wouldn’t be able to afford a lawyer to represent her.

Reporter Terri Harber can be reached at 575-622-7710, ext. 308, or reporter03@rdrnews.com.