The Blue Earth City Council conducted two public hearings for the appeal of Potentially Dangerous Dog Declarations on Aug. 7.

While the council reversed the designation for one of the dogs, it upheld a second dog’s designation as Potentially Dangerous.

The first appeal concerned a Chihuahua named Bear, who is owned by Blue Earth resident Elizabeth Minor. He was declared Potentially Dangerous on July 27 following an incident which occurred the previous day, around 2 p.m. It resulted in an injury to the young daughter of Amanda Rosenbush.

Allegedly, Rosenbush’s daughters stopped by Minor’s home while Minor was in Mankato getting groceries. Minor’s children were at home, but Minor herself had no knowledge of the girls’ visit, and stated they did not have permission to come over that day.

In a report submitted by Blue Earth Police Officer Andrew Thorson, both Minor and Rosenbush said there are clear rules in place regarding the children’s interactions with Bear. Minor had educated the children not to interact with Bear, and she kept a gate in place to separate the dog from the children at all times.

“Amanda stated that she had been to Elizabeth’s house before and there is usually a gate to separate Elizabeth’s dogs from the rest of the house due to Bear’s aggressive nature,” the police report confirmed. Minor also stated the children have been told to never go beyond the gate.

According to the report, the children opened the gate to get water from the kitchen. The child who was injured then sat down on a couch in the gated area, at which time Bear bit her.

Bear bit the child’s left cheek, leaving a mark one inch deep and two inches long.

Bear was up-to-date on his vaccinations at the time of the incident. However, he was not registered with the city and as such was being held at the Faribault County Humane Society (FCHS) during the public hearing.

The city designated Bear as a Potentially Dangerous Dog on July 27, citing a “known propensity, tendency or disposition to attack humans or domestic animals.” 

City administrator Mary Kennedy observed during the hearing, “Based on the report and the information in there, this animal was known to be aggressive. That is why it was locked in its own area, and why people were not to go near it.” 

If the council upheld the Potentially Dangerous Dog Declaration on Aug. 7, Bear would be returned to Minor, but only after he was microchipped and Minor had met the other requirements for owning a Potentially Dangerous Dog, such as posting signage at her residence.

Regardless of the council’s decision, Minor would need to register Bear with the city and pay his impoundment and release fees before Bear was returned to her.

Minor’s husband, Anthony Minor, attended the hearing to plead Bear’s case on Elizabeth Minor’s behalf.

“We’ve had the dog for 10 years,” he said. “We rescued him when he was young from an abusive individual…If the kids had followed the house rules - because the house rule was broken, the incident happened.” 

Minor concluded, “My wife takes care of him. It’s her companion dog…I don’t think it was the dog’s intent to violently attack this child.” 

After more discussion, the council unanimously approved Elizabeth Minor’s appeal of the Potentially Dangerous Dog designation.

A separate Potentially Dangerous Dog Declaration appeal posed more of a conundrum for the council.

The dog in question – a German Shepherd mix named Sigma – belongs to Blue Earth resident Teresa Buesing-Clay. Also involved in the incident were David Clay Sr. and David Clay Jr. All three individuals are residents of the same household.

According to a report submitted by Officer Missy Felion, the incident occurred on July 26 when Buesing-Clay was feeding Sigma and another dog, Riley, pieces of cheese.

Video footage shows Sigma attacking Riley after he receives his piece of cheese. Buesing-Clay alleged Sigma was provoked when Riley “side-eyed” him.

Buesing-Clay and Clay Sr. attempted to pull the dogs apart, and then Clay Sr. began kicking Sigma and pulled out a pocketknife. He later stated he intended to use the knife against Sigma.

Clay Jr. emerged from the basement and attempted to take the knife away from Clay Sr. According to the report, it was at this time that Sigma bit Buesing-Clay on the right forearm, leaving numerous teeth marks. Clay Sr. was also injured when the knife cut his finger, supposedly while grappling for the knife with Clay Jr.

“Clay Sr. was very upset over the incident and said he wanted to kill the dog, but he did not,” the report states. “He did not touch the dog with the knife.” 

In the report, Clay Sr. also stated this was the fifth time Sigma had attacked Riley, who is owned by Clay Sr. Separate video footage on June 18 shows Sigma attacking Riley, and Clay Sr. kicking Sigma in retaliation.

“Both videos clearly show that Sigma is a very aggressive dog,” the report states.

Buesing-Clay was issued a Potentially Dangerous Dog Declaration on July 27, as Sigma had inflicted bites on a human when unprovoked. At the time of the public hearing on Aug. 7, Sigma was quarantined at the FCHS.

The council unanimously voted to uphold the designation after reviewing the evidence in the report and hearing first-person accounts from Buesing-Clay, Clay Jr. and Clay Sr.

The number of animals in the household posed a separate issue. Apart from Sigma and Riley, the residence houses two foster dogs named Festus and Vega, and three cats. All of the animals are unregistered with the city, and have no vet records on file.

According to Blue Earth City Code, households are allowed to keep up to three dogs and four cats.

Buesing-Clay argued that she did not intend to keep Sigma permanently. She stated she intends to train Sigma to be a service dog for her young relative.

However, the council told Buesing-Clay that for the time being, she will need to re-home at least one of the dogs in the household before she can reclaim Sigma from the FCHS.

Additionally, all of the animals in the household will need to be registered. As the council upheld the Potentially Dangerous Dog Declaration, Buesing-Clay will also need to meet the requirements for owning a Potentially Dangerous Dog before Sigma’s release.