Crime & Safety

UPDATE: Dog Mauled to Death Before Spooky Pooch Parade

A family's Pomeranian was killed on St. Charles Avenue the way to the Spooky Pooch Parade on Saturday.

Clarification: The incident occurred on St. Charles Avenue, about a block away from the Spooky Pooch Parade; a previous version of this story noted that the incident occurred at the parade.

Saturday’s Spooky Pooch Parade wasn’t fun for everyone.

It ended in tragedy for one family, whose Pomeranian was killed by two other dogs on St. Charles Avenue on their way to the fifth-annual event.

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“Their owner could not control the dogs as we walked by,” the dog’s owner posted on the Lakewood Citizen’s Facebook page, later commenting that the attacking dogs were a Rottweiler and a Bull-mastiff.

“I am incredibly disappointed that the dogs were allowed to go home with their owner after this horrific incident.”

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Lakewood Patch could not immediately reach the woman, who added that she was walking to the event with her 3-month-old daughter and mother.

An officer at the Lakewood Police Department confirmed the incident, however, no additional information was available and the city’s dog warden could not be immediately reached.

“We were told by the dog warden that there will be a trial and ‘most likely’ the dogs will not be allowed to live in Lakewood anymore,” the woman posted on Facebook. “It is unthinkable that these (vicious) animals are permitted to stay in the city until this trial. Hopefully no other animals or humans will be harmed in the meantime.”

Ian Andrews, the director of LakewoodAlive and co-organizer, pointed out that the incident didn't happen on festival grounds, adding that the event is a safe place for dogs.

"It is tragic ... and I feel awful for those affected," he said in an email.


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