Off-leash pit bull attacks dog at Soquel park

Pip, a 3-year-old pit bull, wears a cone around her neck. She was left with severe wounds after another pit bull attacked her, Tuesday night at Anna Jean Cummings Park in Soquel. “I just wanted to break them up, but it wasn’t easy,” said owner and family nanny, Melanie Vick.

Vick said she was walking Pip when it happened. The Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter works closely with the county parks department. The county requires dogs to remain leashed in the area, but Pip’s owners said this isn’t always the case. “We saw two dogs that were loose, off leash. We walked with Pip on a leash. This other dog, a pit bull, just came up and attacked,” said Vick.

By the time Vick had a chance to ask the dog’s owner why his pet wasn’t on a leash, he was gone. Pip’s owners said they are left wondering why some break county rules. “I think they get complacent. I think they think that they know their dogs and that they’re friendly. In reality, they are animals,” said the dog’s primary owner, Alicia Hall.

Hall said she wants the county to pay more attention to small community parks, like Anna Jean Cummings. The County Animal Shelter said sending its officers out to parks, that are frequented by people and their pets, is a priority. “We do try to do proactive patrols, whenever we can, to the areas that we get the most complaints on about dogs being off-leash,” said Melanie Sobel, general manager at the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter.

Sobel said Anna Jean Cummings Park is one of the areas they receive the most calls about regarding off-leash dogs.

Vick and Hall said the park is a place they will continue to visit, but not without caution. “I would never have Pip off-leash. I guess it’s a responsibility thing. I guess this is happening a lot,” said Hall.