GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK)- The dog responsible for biting a child in May, and suspected by Green Bay police of being a hybrid wolf-dog mix, no sooner got cleared by police when it attacked again.
FOX 11 reporter Ben Krumholz had just finished interviewing Brian Schoen, the dog’s owner, giving him an opportunity to defend himself against recent publicity. All three of his dogs were determined not to be wolf hybrids. Green Bay police Monday decided to dismiss a citation issued to Schoen for having an exotic animal. “Working with the DNR they were able to test the DNA of the dog, that bit the victim on May 17th and conclude the dog was not a wolf hybrid,” said Green Bay Police Captain Kevin Warych.
Prior to the second attack on our reporter, Schoen said he was relieved.
“You know now this can lay to rest, because I’ve been paying tickets for having an exotic animal. I don’t have one you know, so kind of relieved,” said Schoen.
Schoen maintains his dogs are a Husky-Shepard mix. And says the dog bite last month on a 5-year-old in his home, by his dog named Hudson, was a freak accident.
“My gramma brought her grandson in and all them together, there’s five of us all together there, and you know pushed to get in and Hudson just got him, you know. It was a freak accident,” said Schoen about the May 17th attack, indicated the dog had never done that before.
Following that interview Schoen was introducing Fox 11’s Ben Krumholz to each of the dogs, one at a time, on the deck of his Green Bay home.
“It just got to smell you a little bit?” asked Krumholz when the first dog approached him.
Schoen answered, “yes.”
But when Hudson came out of the house. He appeared a bit different. Schoen was telling it to behave.
“You could almost see it in its eyes. I could see him almost snip at our photographer Mike,” said Krumholz.
Even with Schoen holding onto the dog’s collar it lunged at Ben without provocation, biting his hip and breaking the skin.
“Luckily the owner grabbed him again and took him off and I said hey that one’s got to go in the house,” explained Krumholz.
Schoen was ordered by police to surrender the dog to the humane society. Our camera spotted Schoen dropping off the dog Tuesday afternoon. It will be quarantined for 10 days.
At this point the city’s ordinance does not consider the dog to be ‘dangerous,’ despite the two recent attacks, because they happened at the owner’s home. The two bites needed to take place on public property in order for action to be taken by the city to remove the animal.
“Most importantly we want to make sure the community is safe we want to make sure the animal doesn’t re-bite anybody else,” said Warych, who indicated when pressed that might include changing the current ordinance.
“Which may include changing the ordinance. At this point we are enforcing what the city ordinance is at present day,” said Warych.
Krumholz checked out fine by medical staff at an Aurora clinic. He won’t need rabies shots if the dog tests negative.
Schoen apologized to Krumholz for the incident and offered to replace his damaged pants.
Police tell FOX11 that Schoen was warned after the first incident that he should keep the dog away from people not familiar to the animal.
