A man whose beagle was killed by his neighbor's pit bulls is now being sued by their owner for $1 million.
Steve Baker's 10-year-old dog, Bailey, was killed Oct. 27 by Emerald White's pit bulls. In court documents, White claims she was "seriously injured" after being "unexpectedly and viciously attacked" in Baker's Texas City, Texas, backyard. She says she has "multiple serious bite and scratch-type injuries requiring ongoing medical treatment," as well as "conscious pain and suffering" and now "suffers from fear anxiety and trepidation."
Baker told the Galveston County Daily News he couldn't believe it when he was served the papers last week. "Everyone was telling me to sue her, but I decided not to because it won't bring Bailey back," he said. "The police took the action I wanted and declared those dogs dangerous and awareness was raised; so I decided to let it go. Now they're suing me for $1 million."
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The lawsuit also says that Baker did not confine and restrict his dog to a secure enclosure, but Baker says he replaced different parts of the fence weeks before the attack. Now that White's dogs are considered dangerous, they have to be registered with the city annually, a sign must be up on the property alerting people to the fact that the dogs are dangerous, and they must be kept in an enclosure at least 6 feet high with a mechanical locking device.
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