Christine Kiester is angry a dangerous dog in her neighborhood was able to attack for a second time. This month, the North Huntingdon woman was walking with Dodger, a 39-pound, mixed-breed dog, along a neighborhood street when a pit bull escaped from its residence and latched onto her pet's leg, inflicting a serious puncture wound. Police said the pit bull, named Cinder, was deemed a dangerous dog after an attack on Dec. 15, 2005. This second attack cost the pit bull its life. It was euthanized five days after it bit Kiester's dog on April 11. Brad Shields, supervisor for the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement's Western Pennsylvania region, said Cinder was put to death because dangerous dogs in Pennsylvania don't get a second chance to inflict injury. "There are no free bites any more," he said. Kiester said there should be easy access to the dangerous dog registry. "There should be some way to get the information easily ... like the Megan's Law Web site," she said. Shields said there are plans to create a database enabling online access to the registry, along with information on registered kennels, by the end of the year. He said residents may also call the bureau in Harrisburg to obtain information about dangerous dogs. The registry can be viewed and copied at the state Department of Agriculture building in Harrisburg. A total of 352 dogs in the state were declared dangerous in 2006, said Chris Ryder, a spokesman for the Agriculture Department, which oversees dog enforcement laws. Allegheny County reported the most, with 47, followed by Westmoreland County, at 36. In Fayette County, there were 11 dangerous dogs. Indiana County had six. This year, 70 dangerous dogs have been added to the list. The total number fluctuates because some die or move out of state, Ryder said. Kiester said there needs to be more accountability. Under state law, the owner of a dangerous dog must pay a $200 registration fee, carry $50,000 in liability insurance, post a placard visibly on their home indicating a dangerous dog is in the residence and affix dangerous dog tags to the animal. An owner must confine the dog in an enclosure if it is kept outdoors or have it muzzled and restrained if it is outside an enclosure. "Whose responsibility is it to see these owners follow the rules• Is it the neighbors' responsibility or the police's responsibility?" Kiester said. "He was supposed to display a placard in the window of his home, but how is my blind neighbor supposed to know this when he is walking with his $30,000 seeing eye dog• He had a fluorescent sign in his window, but most people don't even know what it is for or couldn't read it from the street. There needs to be preventive measures," Kiester said. The pit bull's owner, Edward C. Byers Jr., 49, of 13704 Ormsby Drive, was charged with attacks by a dangerous dog and failure to restrain, both misdemeanors, as well as required control of a dangerous dog, a summary violation. He faces a preliminary hearing June 6 before District Judge Douglas Weimer. Byers could not be reached for comment. North Huntingdon police Chief Mike Daugherty said Byers' dog was considered a problem after several previous complaints about it running loose in the neighborhood, but it wasn't deemed dangerous until a similar attack 16 months ago. "It was deemed vicious from a previous offense. It was euthanized on April 16 because of this attack," he said. He said there is a township dog officer, but dangerous-dog enforcement is handled by the state dog warden. Kiester said her dog is recovering. She also hopes to recoup more than $100 in veterinary bills for her 3-year-old dog. She had to charge the fees on a credit card because she could not afford them. She said she will continue her crusade to demand awareness of dangerous dogs. "As a community, we should know these things," Kiester said.

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