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Animal Control experts suggest climbing, asking for help if you encounter threatening dog
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BATON ROUGE - The horrific death of 7-year-old Sadie Davila who was killed by a dog on Friday night has sparked concerns and questions about unrestrained animals.
The call Friday night that came into East Baton Rouge Animal Control was horrific.
"It's never happened here before so it was shocking to get that information," says Sedwin Barber, assistant director of East Baton Rouge Animal Control.
Davila was playing in a family member’s yard when a pitbull attacked her. Barber says it was an all hands on deck situation.
“Get everybody out there. Let's take care of business,” Barber said.
Sadie was a first grader at Woodlawn Elementary School. Her teacher says she was fierce and spunky, but also tender-hearted and kind.
Her mother Haley Anselmo released a statement saying, "she was the light in all our lives. She thought more about others' needs before her own. She had a big imagination and so much spunk. She wanted everyone to be happy. She was my mini me.”
The loss of such a promising child makes the news hard to bear for animal control. Barber says while rare, you should get to safety immediately if you come across a dog that appears to be threatening.
"Climb on a vehicle, go to somebody's house… if you have those means. If you don't, the best thing I can tell you is to scream as loud as you can to try and get somebody to stop what they are doing and help you."
Residents with concerns about a dog in their neighborhood should call animal control to investigate the situation.
"We'll come out, we'll tell the people what kind of tethers to use if they are tethered in the yard. If they are in a fenced in area, we look at the fence to see if it's secured to keep that dog into it. If it's not secured we'll inform them that they have to fix that situation or we'll impound the dog," Barber said.
Barber says the East Rouge Animal Control's response time is about 15 minutes. You can call them at (225) 774-7700.
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