BROWNSTOWN — An emergency Brownstown Town Council meeting regarding a dog that had attacked other people’s dogs that left one dead was held Tuesday at town hall.
Emotions were high as the owners of those dogs, including a councilwoman, spoke about what happened to their pets. The board also had to discuss what was going to happen to the aggressive dog, if it would be labeled as a vicious animal and what further action needed to be taken, such as restrictions or termination. They eventually chose the latter.
The owner of the dog on trial was Shannon Root. Her dog was Memphis, a three-year-old 100-pound pit bull that had been with her since 2021, when she got him from Tennessee at six weeks old.
Root lives with her roommate Gregory Scott, who is the caregiver for her autistic grandson who lives them along with her 10-year-old grandson at 506 W. Walnut St.
Police Chief Tom Hanner gave reports on four instances involving Memphis, starting with the most violent. On Aug. 6 at 614 W. Spring St., residents Anne and Weldon Carlin lost their six-year-old, eight-pound Morkie, Annabelle, in their backyard to an attack by Memphis. Anne Carlin is a member of the town council who had to recuse herself from the hearing.
Root was working in Seymour during the attack, but Scott was at the scene.
“The dog (Memphis) would not let loose,” said Weldon Carlin, getting choked up as he spoke. “He (Scott) was beating as hard as he could, and that dog would not let loose.”
Anne Carlin said Scott wanted to leave the property after the attack, but she stood her ground to stop both him and the dog from leaving.
“We have a daycare with 55 kids across the street and we have a middle school. We have a high school, and we have Saint Peters. I did not want the dog to leave,” Anne Carlin said. “Yes, I have two grandkids. It’s terrible about my poor dog, but we could be in a much worse situation.”
Hanner said Scott advised euthanizing Memphis. Root said during the hearing that Scott had no right whatsoever to say that because the dog has always been solely hers.
Anne Carlin expressed frustration about expecting the dog to have been put down because of what Scott said and then receiving a phone call the next day about the dog being loose again.
On Aug. 7, Memphis was reported running wild by a middle school. Memphis was caught by animal control and put in the Brownstown dog pound, not allowed to be released until the vicious animal hearing took place.
“I can’t imagine how she (Annabelle) felt being mauled in the backyard,” said Annie Carlin said. “I just can’t fathom it.”
Besides that attack, there were other incidents mentioned.
In the department’s radio history, Hanner found a call on July 25 from Larry Curry at 508 W. Spring St., saying the dog was running wild in an aggressive manner.
During the hearing, Curry said that outside his house, he saw a little boy running toward his neighbor’s home. There, Curry’s neighbor’s dog, a German shepherd, was being bitten at the neck by Memphis.
Curry said he intervened, pulling the German shepherd back and, eventually, Memphis took off, along with the boy chasing after him.
Another attack involved two dogs owned by Jamie Temple, occurring Aug. 2 at 222 S. Francis St.
Root and Scott went to the address with Memphis and two of Temple’s dogs were hurt in the frenzy at her front door.
First during that incident, Memphis attacked Iggy, Temple’s golden retriever, and then went for the family’s golden doodle, Teddy, biting the dog’s neck and refusing to let go.
Temple reported Root’s 10-year-old grandson along with some other neighborhood kids were there, trying to chase down Memphis.
“I grabbed ahold of his (Memphis’s) face and was pulling it back and was punching him in the face to make him let go of my dog. He was wanting to rip and tear, but I had a pretty good grip on him,” Temple said. “It was a mother bear situation.”
Temple reported her dogs, children and herself were okay after the attack. She decided to speak with an officer about the situation Aug. 5 and the following day, she got a message about the Carlins’ dog being brutally attacked and killed.
During her testimony, Root said that on July 16, their six-foot tall fence was damaged by a tree company, which cut a tree down that fell and destroyed part of the fence.
The man who damaged the fence was supposed to fix it, but Root said he kept pushing it off, their fence still broken on Saturday.
Root said it was her 10-year-old grandson’s responsibility to take care of Memphis, such as feeding and watering him, but when he started stubbornly refusing to do his chores, the boy would stand in the opened the door and wait for Memphis to run free.
Her grandson with autism, who is nonverbal and uses a wheelchair, is who she originally got Memphis for, which she said get along well. She said Memphis’s behavior came down to him being friendly with kids and people, but hating other animals, because “he’s scared that other animals are going to hurt kids.”
According to police reports, no one mentioned being bitten by Memphis, but there were some reports of people receiving smaller injuries, such as scratches or nips.
When asked about if Memphis had exhibited aggressive behavior toward animals in the past, Root said she saw him act this way when her grandkids would play in the backyard and a dog would walk by the fence. This would trigger him to bark and bite at the fence, trying to get out.
“Is it safe to assume that the only thing protecting the neighborhood this entire time [was the fence]?” town attorney Zach Miller asked, which Root agreed with.
The council decided to label Memphis as a vicious animal with little discussion.
Councilman Tim Robinson read the definition of a vicious animal, which he said Memphis ticked all the boxes of; “Any animal which, when unprovoked, in an aggressive manner, inflicts severe injury on or kills a human being or a domestic pet.”
If given a second chance, Root wanted to take Memphis to a family member’s place in Franklin, where there is 10 acres of land and no people or animals close by to become potential victims to Memphis’s aggression if he were to escape again.
With no way to ensure this would happen, especially with the dog outside of Brownstown and town council jurisdiction, the council showed great hesitation to this proposal.
“I don’t want to take our problem and pass it someplace else,” Robinson said.
Miller also made the point that “dogs don’t carry their criminal records around with them like people do,” which means in Franklin, Memphis wouldn’t have the vicious animal label anymore.
Council President Gregg Goshorn said that from previous vicious animal hearings, they have “never had a backstory or a history of repeated attacks that this dog has had.”
By the end, the motion was passed to euthanize Memphis with an observed visitation in the air, so Root can say her goodbyes.
