Board backs chief’s dangerous dog determination

A cane corso named Diablo, who has bitten several people in the last decade, was determined to be a “dangerous dog” by Grafton Police Chief Jeff Caponera, a decision reaffirmed unanimously by the Grafton Village Board last week.

The board held a special meeting on Sept. 15 to hear an appeal by Diablo’s owner Troy Schallitz, who asked to have the “dangerous dog” designation repealed.

Caponera said he decided to designate Diablo as a dangerous dog after learning the dog had bitten three people in nine years, most recently a neighbor and her mother on July 26.

That, he said in a letter to Schallitz explaining the determination, demonstrates “a pattern of aggressive and unprovoked behavior toward humans,” and he noted that Schallitz had a “documented history of failing to contain your dogs.”

The chief, who noted he is a dog lover, said he didn’t just look at the dog’s behavior in making the determination.

“I consider the owner,” he said. “It’s not just a dog problem; it’s an owner problem.

“This is a dangerous dog.”

In the most recent incident, Heather Dvoran of 620 Washington St. testified before the Village Board, she and her mother were walking her dog Paddy and only traveled about 20 feet from her house before they encountered Diablo.

“My mom shouted, ‘It’s that dog, that dog is out again,’” Dvoran said. “That dog rushed us. It started attacking Paddy.”

Diablo latched onto her arm, she said, and she “kind of blacked out.” Schallitz came over and called Diablo off her, and she took her dog home.

“I realized my arm wasn’t working,” she said, adding Diablo also bit her mother’s foot.  

Her mother Debra Haseley of Port Washington said of the incident, “I’ve never been so scared in all my life. We did not provoke anything. This dog came out of nowhere and viciously attacked me.”

She didn’t realize the dog had attacked her as well, she said, because she was “looking at my daughter who had blood coming out. All I wanted to do is get my daughter taken care of.”

Haseley said her wound started to “fester” so she went to her doctor, who told her she had a dog bite that was becoming infected.

Schallitz said that Diablo, one of two dogs he owns, slipped out of the house that day when his children were preparing to go to the store to get the makings for s’mores.

“I understand and take full responsibility  for the incident with Heather,” Schallitz said. “If I had seen he was out, this never would have happened.”

But he also questioned whether it was Diablo who bit Dvoran, noting that his dog’s teeth were worn down on one side, adding, “I’m not sure how it could have” caused marks on her arm.”

This wasn’t the first time Dvoran said she had a bad encounter with Diablo. A few weeks before the July 26 incident, she said, her dog’s leash broke and Paddy ran up to Diablo.

“The dogs got into it,” she said, adding Schallitz called his dog off and nothing serious occurred.

Schallitz said Dvoran’s dog was the aggressor who came into his yard, and his father Duane told the board that he believed Diablo was acting to protect him in that case.

“He thought (her dog) was going to bite me,” he said. “I believe in my heart he was protecting me.”

In one of the previous incidents, Diablo bit Schallitz’s daughter when she was about 3, his estranged wife Amber said, noting the girl had jumped on the dog while he slept, startling him.

In a 2016 incident, she said, their children let the dog out and he approached and bit a pedestrian who swatted at the dog near his face and he bit.

“It barely punctured her skin,” Amber Schallitz said. 

When asked if Diablo had obedience training, Troy Schallitz said he had been trained in numerous things, including obedience and dog bite training, which he said is used to instill a prey drive and concentrates on control and discipline.

Schallitz said Diablo is a social animal and said he does not want him labeled a dangerous dog. He said he’s taken steps to ensure the dog doesn’t get out of his house unsupervised, and he has implemented “pretty much everything” required by the designation.

But, he said, he doesn’t want to have to muzzle Diablo when he’s in public.

The designation does not mean Diablo needs to be put down, officials stressed, but the dog must be registered with the village annually, signs must be placed at Schallitz’s property noting a dangerous dog is on site and the dog must be confined indoors or in a secure, enclosed and locked outdoor pen at all times.

The dog must also be implanted with a microchip to identify him, wear a red collar or harness to indicate his dangerous status, must be muzzled and kept on a leash no longer than three feet and under the direct control of an adult when off premises.

In addition, Schallitz must maintain insurance of at least $250,000 to cover any injuries caused by Diablo.