This horrible. My heart goes out to this family. I agree that these dogs should be banned from living in our community. Dogs that cannot be controlled should not be around children and other pets. Simple as that.

Colin, any word on the breed?

My first thought is that it doesn't make sense to just say "get them out of Lakewood". But then again we can "hope" that a more responsible owner would take care of them. I'm curious what these dogs are like normally - this can't be a surprise; when dogs show attack behavior toward smaller animals, it usually isn't a surprise. REALLY upsetting.
I purposely don't take my dog to events like this because I know she will be a pain and isn't great around other dogs. However, if I did, I would make sure I was able to control her in any situation (aside from maybe getting mauled by two large dogs). So maddening!

Collin thank you so much for sharing my family's story about this tragic incident. I would be more than happy to provide further details as to what happened.

Breed doesn't matter! Those owners should not only have their dogs banished from the city but they should no longer be allowed to have a dog! This is the fifth time spooky pooch has gone on an no one else ever had to lose their dog to death. it's no secret a ton of people show up with all different types of dogs. If any owner cannot control their pet they need to not bring it to social events such as these. Don't go attacking any breeds. This is purely bad ownership and an isolated incident reflective strictly on them and their lack of control. Having a pet die is equal to losing a family member. That poor family.

This is really unacceptable. Punish the owners and kill the dogs.

Lisa - what breed of dogs were they?

I don't believe that the dogs need to be put down....but the owner needs to pay a fine - and a hefty one. The problem starts at the human end of the leash. There is a huge responsibility to owning a dog and living in a community. You must have control of your dogs at all times. If you aren't able to control your animals, hopefully, you seek a trainer and work with your dog to make them more social. This is unacceptable behavior from the owners.

My mother and I were walking on St. Charles heading to the parade. She had her pomeranian Presley on a leash and I was carrying my toy poodle Spike (on a leash) and pushing my 3 month old daughter in her stroller and as we walked down the sidewalk to pass a woman with a bull mastiff and rottweiler sitting on the tree lawn, both on leashes as well, before we could even pass, they both raced towards Presley and attacked. The mastiff bit Presley in the stomach, my mother tried to pick him up but both dogs attacked again & the mastiff grabbed Presley by the neck, shook him and snapped his neck. As soon as he was dead they backed off and allowed their owner to put them in the car. The owner apologized and stated that that she had just adopted the mastiff a month ago. Once the dog warden arrived he took statements & said he offered to take the dogs but the owner wants take them home. He said in 7 to 10 days there will be a hearing & that the dogs will not be allowed in the city of Lakewood. We contacted the warden for an update and he said only the mastiff will be most likely removed from the city. As a concerned citizen of Lakewood I am outraged that these dogs were allowed to return home with their owner, and that at this time only the mastiff will be removed from the city. I have to believe that poor Presley died a hero, seeing this woman be dragged by these two dogs who knows what would have happened when she took them to a parade with thousands of dogs and small children.

I am so sad for the owners- really terrifying that they had to go through this! It IS about the owners, not a breed. My (spayed ) rescue greyhound was almost mounted by a dog at this event; it really scared her, and the owner couldn't have cared less.I have a reactive dog that I simply don't take to events, plus he goes to classes to help him.He is not a large dog, either, nor did he ever drag me anywhere.Obviously, if you can't control your dog, it has no place at a big event.

Omg, when dogs are put in stressful environments this is what happens. My heart breaks for BOTH familes. Also, the 2 dogs should not be put down, why kill 2 more dogs?! Accident has a definition. This is so sad.

How do you determine if the little dog wasn't the aggressor. My 8 lb. schnoodle things she's a big dog. And don't be smelling her behind. That's why I don't take the chance of taking her around other dogs. I don't think putting the big dogs down is the answer, maybe one dog per handler in the future. It is the owners and not the breed, I believe also.

What a terrible thing to say Joe Schlabotnik. This was a horrific event and your insensitivity isn't appreciated by anyone.
The owners need to be held accountable, whether they pay a fine or lose the privilege of owning animals, but something needs to be done. The Spooky Pooch Parade organizers need to take extra precaution next year if they do hold this event again next year so this unfortunate event doesn't happen again.

Mary
I am the proud owner of an adorable springer spaniel who I love more than some of the people I know. Having said that, I purposely keep her away from crowds. She can't tolerate it and would be a royal pain.
Lisa, I'm so sorry for your loss. I can't imagine such a horrible thing....

Wow Joe, you are a sick excuse for a human being. You must be miserable person, and I feel very sorry for you.

Colin; From what I read and understand about the incident your report and account of what happened is inaccurate. You wrote; "It ended in tragedy for one family, whose Pomeranian was killed by two other dogs on St. Charles Avenue at the fifth-annual event." They were not even AT the event yet!!

The very sad incident happened on St. Charles near Franklin (a good 1/3 mile from the Parade) BEFORE any of the dogs were even checked in at the Spooky Pooch Parade. From the many comments, people think that the dogs were influenced by the big crowd and many other dogs there! That is just not true and I think you owe your readers a correction and clarification! The organizers of the Spooky Pooch Parade did another excellent job this year along with the police officers there that day. Reporting the facts as they happened is what most people expect from news sources... Thank you.

What a tasteful and classy comment, joe

Joe and Duke, congratulations for really being rude.The owner, who has posted here, certainly doesn't need to see garbage like this. It helps to think before you post.

Sorry

this was a terrible thing to happen..but the dogs shouldn't be to blame...it's the owner!..if you know your dog doesna do well in and if you don know how he'll do at all, you shouldn't put it in the situation..that's being irrisponsible andasking for trouble..it's not right that the dogs should be held accountable for their owners lack..
i'm terribly sorry for what happened to the pom and its family

Dogs will always be dogs.

Killing a dog that is so small it looks like prey doesn't make a dog dangerous.

The owner needs to be fined and sentenced to spending at least 8 weeks at a reputable trainer on responsible dog ownership and traning techniques to control their dogs..

Sure glad that the Breed Specific Legislation is working so well in Lakewood....

do we know if the pom provoked any of this b/c natural instincts to dogs is to protect themselves if they feel threatened. you're right...you cannot blame the dogs.

I can only blame Republicans and the Church for fighting against dog condoms.

My heart goes out to everyone involved. Sometimes even trained dogs act in unexpected ways...Not trying to down play what happened to poor Presley at all and I do think the large dog owners should be held responsible for what happened. If my dog did something that horrible I would feel it's my responsibility to make sure it never happend again. I can't imagine what it was like to witness. Our pets are like family and some of the other comments are appalling. Good luck to both families!

My chihuahua was in our backyard....on his leash with my husband. Two Rottweilers came into my backyard. The one walked over to my dog and picked him up by his hindquarters lifting him off the ground. My husband kicked it to get it to let our little guy go. The two dogs and an additional three were all seemed dangerous animals in our city. We all must do our part. I do not walk past any dogs without holding mine until the bigger dogs are out of sight. I know this won't prevent all attacks, but it can help. Unfortunately, all dogs that aren't on a leash can be dangerous regardless of the size or breed.

Lisa, I'm so sorry for your mom's loss and your terrible experience. My heart breaks for you both, especially when there are those who make light of it, such as Duke.

Food for thought...The Lakewood Animal Shelter was named in a womans will, somewhere around $100,000.00. How about using some of that money for spay/neuter, and most importantly, EDUCATION. That money is sitting somewhere, not a penny spent, not even a memorial plack for the poor woman who left it. Surly Lakewood can do better than that. BSL does not, I repeat, does not make us safer. This just proves my point.

I have a very aggressive German Shepherd and I would never put him in that situation. Dogs will be dogs. Shame on the ownwers for being stupid. And if you have two small dogs and a 3 month old why in the world would you walk past a bull-mastif and a rott. you are not very smart sorry to say and I am sorry about your loss but not suprised

On come the pit bull lovers. Wow. I say exterminate them all. It could have been a kid they killed, which has much higher value than a Pomeranian (yes, dog lovers, people first). I will volunteer to conduct the mass slaughter.

What part of this did not happen at the Spooky Pooch Parade event did most everyone not understand?
Colin your headline was very misleading!

I happen to be friends with the father of the kid who lost his life to the garage door! Not only is that completely irrelevant in this forum, but you are a complete ASSHOLE STEVE! I hope "a bullie" rips your tiny cherry tomato balls off slowly! Idiot!

Jason, sorry that someone brought that up. I agree that it is totally irrelevant. Your criticism of pet owners and specific breeds of dogs is only adding fuel to the fire, however. My dog has been bitten twice-attacked by 2 unleased dogs while we were on a walk, one was a golden retriever and the other was a mutt. Can we please just direct our comments not at one another but as consolations to the family that this happened to? After all, their children did have to witness this so they have endured some sort of trauma. Whether you like dogs or not, let's just try to conduct ourselves with dignity and as adults.

Dear Lisa, I am very sorry to hear about what happened this past Saturday. My heart goes out to you and your family. I am also sorry about the posts from all the ignorant people on this story. There are only two points to my story. Number one, you and your family lost a loved one that was very important to all of you and irreplaceable. For this I am at a loss of words because it seems that no words can take away your pain.
Secondly, I really wish for that perfect world where people understand that any dog can attack at any time no matter the breed. Owners are the ones who are suppose to be intelligent enough to know whether they have control over their dog or not. In this case, this owner did not.
Again, my heart just broke when I read your story and I hope that one day us humans will realize that all dogs can attack at any moment but us “intelligent” creatures should always be in control of them.

Lisa, I am so sorry for the loss & can't even imagine the helplessness both you & your mother experienced witnessing such a tragedy. Most of us dog lovers feel for you & your loss. Whoever mentioned that you shouldn't have walked past these dogs with your pets & child obviously is a moron. Unfortunately sometimes (whether wrongly or rightly) we ASSUME that owners can control their pets. Tragically, you were a victim of an irresponsible person who shouldn't own anything capable of doing such harm. I would like to point one thing out however, is that folks seem to forget that there is a HUGE difference between 'animal aggression' & 'human aggression'. I have a male dog that has a very high prey drive, he does not do well with other strange dogs either, especially after being attacked by an off leash dog. That being said, I make sure that my pets are always securely harnessed (no slipping a collar) & even use a 'handsfree leash' which will ensure there is no way I can drop a leash. Lakewood needs to enact sensible, ENFORCIBLE laws that targets the owner, regardless of breed. This incident, although completely avoidable due to the owner's negligence, should be proof positive that the city needs to step up it's education of dog safety & responsible pet ownership.

Wake up Lakewood!!! This act of violence against a poor pup was totally uncalled for. The owner should have kept control of her vicious dogs. There is absolutely no excuse for this to have happened to Presley. We have laws that seem to not be enforced and it is becoming more common for irresponsible owners to allow this to happen. I would prosecute to the fullest, the owner, and put the dog down who attacked Presley. The owner needs to be punished too. Why didn't the owner muzzle the dogs, all kinds of horrible things go through my mind of what else could have happened, this is happening too much, it has to STOP.

Tiny dog dressed in a costume...hmmm, I think even I may have mistaken it for a TOY. According to the details the owner provided, the Pom was picked up & shook, not viciously ripped apart by these 'dangerous dogs'. The fact that this 'technically' did not happen at the event doesn't matter, it is still a RESULT of the parade...lots of dogs dressed in costume wouldn't be milling around for any other reason in that area. With this many dogs & who knows how many irresponsible, careless owners who are too busy ooohing & ahhhing over pet costumes, is this really a surprise?

All I can say is very poor judgement by the owner has resulted in the violent death of an innocent animal. Why on earth would you take a dog the size of a Mastiff to an event with many other dogs when you have only had the dog for one month?? She had absolutely NO idea what this dog was like, and they didnt even make it to the parade. Plus she brought another large breed dog making it almost impossible to control the situation. And please dont tell me they were on those retractable leashes!! As a responsible 110# pit bull owner I do not put myself or my dog in any situation I can not handle. Dogs no matter how well trained can be unpredicatable when put in stressful situations. Know you dog and above all, be able to handle them.

i am an owner of a past abused rescued terrier mix 8 lbs MAX.. it was probably more than 6 months before I took him around other dogs.. as you have to get a feeling of how dogs are.. personality etc.. I must say I am a bit surprised by the response of "you shouldn't walk down the street because you saw big dogs".. it is a free street and owners are responsible for their pets.. not the people walking down the street..
it is pure neglect from the dogs owner.. I am a bit surprised that the dogs were not taken into temporary custody..
One question I never saw asked : (sorry if I missed it).. it was stated these dogs were on leashes.. did they break the leash?? was the leashes on these dogs way too long.. to reach anyone walking on the sidewalk?? I think this would be an important question..
I had a neighbor housing pitbulls above me.. I tried to make sure not to bring my dog or my 2 year old around them.. as the owner did not keep them on leashes.. One bit and killed a poodle.. The lakewood animal control and police came out here.. Took the dogs into custody for investigation and took the 21 year old owner to jail.. end result he was sanctioned to never own dogs again as long as he lives in ohio.. 4 days later he had both dogs back and 2 2 months old baby pitbulls (again not on leashes) his mother had signed to get the dogs and he had them back once again.. he has left lakewood since.. thank goodness

I'm sorry for the loss of your little loved one..