5 days ago
Dogs on GAP trail surrendered to shelter
CUMBERLAND — Two dogs that were running at large multiple times near mile marker 3 on the Great Allegheny Passage are now owned by the Allegany County Animal Shelter.
Danny Porter and Nickole Stemple, of Kansas Avenue in Cumberland, Saturday gave the dogs, a Great Dane and a boxer-terrier mix, to the facility, according to a county official.
That action followed a lengthy legal battle between the couple and county, and was set for a hearing Tuesday.
However, 'as a result of their surrendering the dogs, the replevin action was deemed moot and we dismissed the action today,' Allegany County Attorney T. Lee Beeman said this week.
ComplaintsCumberland resident Christopher Allison, an avid bicyclist who frequently rode on the GAP, complained multiple times for roughly three years to local officials that he and other folks had been terrorized on a regular basis by two aggressive dogs loose on the trail 'to assault bikers and walkers.'
He filed with the local animal control office an affidavit that included photos and a detailed description of the dogs.
Allison said he complained to the sheriff's office 'after animal control's response to the continuing issue was to advise me to find another place to bike.'
At one point, attorneys for the county and state brought charges against the dogs' owners, but the case was dismissed by a judge who said a local animal control officer had failed to list dates of prior violations on a citation.
In his fight for safety on the public trail, Allison grew increasingly concerned and frustrated by a lack of attention to the problem.
'I do not understand or cannot identify any legitimate reason why this is a continuing issue,' he wrote in 2023.
'Habitual'Paul Ackerman said he often saw the dogs near mile marker 3 on the GAP during his daily 20-mile hike.
'I can't tell you how many times I or others have encountered those dogs,' Ackerman said in September.
'This has been a habitual problem for a lot of people,' he said.
'I've been very close to getting attacked by both of them,' Ackerman said. 'I should be able to walk and not worry about it.'
Mile marker 3 is 'a ticking time bomb,' he said.
CaseFollowing the complaints, Allegany County last year updated its code to 'recognize that animals running at large pose a substantial threat to public safety and constitute a public nuisance,' which includes any dog that has repeatedly been found at large, 'bitten two or more persons,' or disturbed the peace by excessive barking.
'The ownership rights of a person owning a public nuisance animal may be forfeited to the county,' it stated and outlined a legal process that requires an animal owner to receive written notice that states 'reasons why forfeiture is sought,' including summary of applicable incidents.
Animal control subsequently declared the two dogs public nuisance animals due to repeatedly running at large on the trail near Dakota Avenue, roughly a mile north of Cumberland Narrows, and sought forfeiture of the dogs.
A hearing on the matter was held in October and included testimony from Allison and Ackerman.
OrderAssistant Allegany County Attorney Ramon Rozas, who presided over the October hearing, in November ordered the dogs to become property of the local animal shelter.
'On many occasions, as shown by witness testimony and photographic evidence, the dogs have been off of the owners' property, or property where they have permission to be, and have been on the GAP, public roads and on railroad tracks,' Rozas said via the order. 'The dogs have threatened users of the GAP, and on one occasion a biker had to use chemical irritants to prevent an attack.'
'The owners have often failed to even be aware that the dogs have left their property, or are running at large,' Rozas said, adding that remedial efforts the couple eventually took, which included use of electric shock collars to keep the animals from leaving their property, 'are classic examples of shutting the barn door after the horse has bolted,' and did not diminish the shelter's case.
AppealAfter the October hearing, Stemple called the legal case 'a witch hunt.'
She and Porter appealed the county decision to take the dogs.
In March, Allegany County Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey S. Getty dismissed the appeal.
Getty 'found our argument that petitioners failed to follow the procedural requirements convincing, and dismissed the matter as a result of their failure,' Beeman said at the time.
PersistenceThis week, Allison recounted his many efforts to stop the dogs from threatening trail users.
'Those chartered to protect and serve demonstrated a commitment to neither and less my persistence to achieve a solution to the danger, no action would have been taken to achieve the final outcome,' Allison said.
'This was a public safety issue that took (about) three years to resolve,' he said.
