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	Photo by Travis Pratt Shane Miller, 13, was attacked by his neighbor’s two pit bulls last month. Even though the attack sent him and an 8-year-old girl to the hospital, Animal Control could legally place only limited restrictions on the dogs and their owner.

On Aug. 19, two pit bulls ran out of their house on Kingsbrook Drive in Frederick , which neighbors say they've done before. The dogs attacked two children and chased one woman before being caught by the owners and Frederick County Animal Control.

Animal Control placed the dogs in a 10-day, in-home quarantine, where they could leave the house only to relieve themselves in the backyard and had to be on a leash when outdoors.

The families of the children bitten are not convinced the rules go far enough and are considering alternative courses of action to prevent future dog attacks in their neighborhood.

Animal Control Director Harold Domer said Frederick County Animal Control adopted stricter regulations in 2004, after a particularly bad dog attack that broke a woman's ankle and left her needing skin graft surgery. The 2004 regulations allow the county to restrict dogs that have attacked before, with more severe restrictions for those that pose a more serious threat.

Since then, the number of dog attacks on humans has dropped about 10 percent, according to data from the Frederick County Health Department.

Between July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009, dogs attacked 210 people, Frederick County Health Department records show. Dogs attacked 234 people during that same period four years earlier. Domer said the drop can be credited to "educational efforts by our Animal Control officers and a general mindset by pet owners to be responsible."

Domer said that keeping dogs on their owners' property so they can't attack anyone in the first place is one of the biggest struggles his department faces.

"While you see a 10 percent decline in animal bites, you don't see that decline in running at large," which can make it more likely for an animal to fight another animal, get hit by a car, or attack a human. Domer said roughly three-quarters of the dog bites in the county occur on the owner's property, and of the other cases some occur while the dog is on a leash. But when dogs escape from their owners' control, people can get hurt.

An unprovoked attack

Around 6 p.m. Aug. 19, 8-year-old Ally Foertschbeck was playing in her friend Megan Light's backyard when the two pit bulls jumped across a creek and into the yard. The dogs chased the two girls around to the front of the house. Megan made it inside, but Ally tripped in the garage. The dogs attacked, biting her four times on the upper thighs and lower back before she could get up and run inside.

Megan's mother, Donna Light, ran outside to make sure no other children were near the dogs, but the pit bulls chased her back into her house. The dogs roamed the neighborhood for about 15 minutes before coming across 13-year-old Shane Miller, who was sitting on his front porch with some friends.

"This little one comes trotting towards me, and he was happy and panting," he said. "And then the other one came charging at me through the trees."

The dog bit and scratched his upper arm and the back of his knee, leaving a puncture in his leg half an inch deep.

Both children were sent to the hospital, but neither needed stitches, which limited the action Animal Control could take. Because neither child broke any bones or required stitches, the injuries were not considered serious. Therefore, Animal Control officers could classify the dogs only as "potentially dangerous," according to county code.

If the dogs are still deemed "potentially dangerous" after an appeals hearing scheduled for Monday, the owner could be charged with a misdemeanor and fined up to $1,000 if the dogs escape from the property again, according to county law.

But Al Miller and Tina Foertschbeck, the parents of the children who were bitten, say that's not enough.

"Honestly, I wish those dogs were gone," Tina Foertschbeck said. "There are so many children in this neighborhood, and not just kids, but people walking around and walking their dogs."

Al Miller said he would talk to legal counsel and perhaps take his concerns to court if Animal Control didn't remove the two pit bulls.

"We just cannot have that kind of situation happen in our neighborhood again," he said.

The owner of the two dogs declined to comment for this story.

'Restrictions are critical'

Domer said the only real way to decrease the number of attacks is for owners to make sure their pets cannot escape from the yard, and for neighbors to be vigilant about reporting aggressive animals.

"Anytime an animal attacks a human unprovoked, the penalties and restrictions are critical," he said, adding that public safety is his department's top mission.

With significantly harsher restrictions for a dog deemed "dangerous" instead of "potentially dangerous," Domer said the best way to keep a neighborhood safe is for residents to alert officials if a potentially dangerous dog isn't being properly confined so it can be investigated and possibly reclassified.

Foertschbeck is planning to do that.

"I plan on being vigilant, and every time I see (the dogs) out I'll call Animal Control," she said.