Community concerned with safety after man killed by roaming dogs
JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ala. (WBMA) — Six dogs have been euthanized for mauling a 65-year old man to death Tuesday in Jefferson County's McDonald Chapel community.
Consuella Lewis lives down the street from where this mauling occurred. She said she fights off dogs daily when taking her morning walk.
Lewis provided home surveillance video of a group of roaming dogs near her home the same day the man was attacked.
Lewis noticed the rise in roaming dogs back in 2021.
She began carrying extra protection on daily walks to ensure here safety.
“I actually have to have my gun on me just to walk because the dogs are vicious," said Lewis, "I would give a warning shot in the air for the dogs for them to 'shoosh' off and that worked at first but as they got used to it they just was like we can still bite her she ain’t going to do nothing. That’s when I started with the stick for bite marks and stuff.”
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Lewis said she has made several calls to Jefferson County Animal Control about this issue with no response.
Allison Black Cornelius, the CEO of the Greater Birmingham Humane Society and representative for Jefferson County Animal Control, said they are receiving these calls but can't meet the demand.
"We’ve got 5 ACO’s, I think Birmingham has 6 or 7. It’s just we can't hire enough people to catch all of these dogs and make people safe. We need to prevent it," said Cornelius.
Cornelius believes the increase in animals is due to lack of accountability placed on pet owners across Jefferson County.
“Stop breeding dogs. If you’re not a responsible breeder of dogs you need to get out of the back yard puppy business because that is exactly who’s contributing to this,” said Cornelius.
ABC 33/40 reached out to the county to see if anything could be done to help the issue on their end.
A representative tells us that unlike a city, such as Birmingham, a county does not have home rule. This means the county is bound by laws set by the state.
Implementing additional restrictions or policies in unincorporated Jefferson county would take legislative action in Montgomery.
Animal control has spent 21-days straight in the McDonald Chapel community trying to thin out the number of roaming dogs.
If you see a roaming animal in a Jefferson County area call Jefferson County Animal Control at 205-591-6522.
Make sure to give an exact location of where you saw the dog(s). Do not wait until you get home. Call immediately so animal control officers can make their way to the scene in a timely manner.
