Animal lovers rally around police dog

LAYTON — Monday mornings are usually pretty run-of-the-mill for Layton police Lt. Kevin Allred. Catch up on paperwork, answer a few phone calls and get ready for the week.

But this Monday was different. Allred didn't have time for those routine things — his phone kept ringing and ringing.

One by one, animal lovers voiced their concerns about the welfare of a police dog that has been taken off duty for allegedly biting a woman.

"It's just gone nuts," Allred said. "I'm not surprised. Animals are well liked in this nation."

Some callers even offered to donate cash to spare Rex, a German shepherd, from a possible death sentence.

Rex's future has been uncertain since a Sept. 18 incident at the Layton High School track. A 20-year-old woman said the dog attacked her as she ran behind Rex and his handler. The dog was running without a leash.

"He tried to get the dog off of me, and the dog wouldn't stop," Lindsey McKee said. "He won't get off of me, and he had to grab him by the collar and yank him from me."

McKee said the dog scratched and clawed her, ripping some of her clothes. She also said the dog bit her on the hip.

City code requires all dog owners to keep dogs on a leash and in immediate control. Handlers can let police dogs off the leash if they are performing official duties.

Allred said the city pays officers to keep dogs in shape. By exercising that morning, the dog was performing official police duties, he said.

Rex is a respected member of the Layton police force, Allred said. He will remain off-duty until an investigation into the attack is complete.

Another Layton woman claims Rex attacked her in October 2001. The dog bit Sherrie Tatton last year after police entered her store as she was conducting late-night inventory.

Police responded to a suspicious-person call near a business when officers spotted the open back door of Tatton's business, assistant city attorney Steve Garside said. Police sent the dog into the business after no one responded to verbal inquiries by officers.

The dog found Tatton and barked at the woman, who then kicked the dog, Allred said. It was after the kick that the dog bit Tatton's hand, inflicting a single puncture wound.

Paramedics treated Tatton's injury and encouraged the woman to go to the hospital, but she refused, Allred said.

Tatton said Layton police should remove Rex from their police force.

"If this was a regular dog and attacked two people, the dog would be put down," her attorney, Kenneth Greenwood, told The Associated Press. Calls to the attorney were not immediately returned Monday.

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