Rathdrum pit bull kills poodle

RATHDRUM - Chet Edelblute awoke to screaming Saturday morning.

By the time he made it outside to his front porch, the neighbor's pit bull had attacked and killed his family's toy poodle, Cinnamon, as Edelblute's 15-year-old daughter stood just feet away.

"All I heard was my daughter screaming bloody murder," Edelblute said. "She was yelling, 'The pit bull is killing my dog!'"

Rathdrum police impounded the pit bull and issued a vicious dog citation to its owner, Jacob Casey. The pit bull is being quarantined at Kootenai Humane Society, Police Chief Kevin Fuhr said, and will likely be euthanized.

It was the second time police have responded to an attack involving Casey's pit bull. In April, Rathdrum police responded to Casey's Stevens Street home after the pit bull dug under the fence and attacked another neighbor's small dog.

Fuhr said Casey reportedly jumped the fence in that instance and reined in his dog. The smaller dog only suffered a small scratch, Fuhr said, and the dog's owner didn't want to press charges.

Edelblute said he had seen the pit bull running loose before and had heard about the prior attack and also that the dog had killed another neighbor's chickens.

"They knew it was a vicious dog," Edelblute said.

Edelblute said his daughter, Tessie, stepped onto their porch around 9 a.m. Saturday and Cinnamon came out behind her.

The pit bull escaped out the back door of the neighbor's house and ran toward the toy poodle, he said.

"My daughter had seen the dog coming and tried to help (Cinnamon)," he said. "The pit bull lunged and growled at her. It jumped on the dog and bit it and started bashing it around and killed it."

Edelblute said his family's dog was nearly torn in half in the attack. The pit bull dragged the carcass next door and onto Casey's front porch.

He called 911. When police got there, they took the pit bull and said it would be put down, Edelblute said.

"They took our dog, too," he said. "We couldn't even look at it. It was so horrible."

The 3-year-old poodle was a gift to his daughter from her grandpa, who recently died of ALS, Edelblute said.

"She was a special dog," he said. "She was like a family member."

The 30-year resident wants the city to ban pit bulls.

Fuhr said the city does have ordinances regarding vicious dogs. The city law requires owners to keep dogs confined indoors or in a secure pen. If outside, the dogs are required to be on a leash and muzzled.

Owners of dogs that are declared vicious are required to display a vicious dog sign on their property and provide the city with proof of insurance for a minimum of $100,000.

According to the police report from Saturday's attack, Casey was leaning toward having the dog euthanized because it was the second time it has attacked.