Chapel Hill Pit Bulls In Custody For Fourth Time

The dogs, named Roscoe and Cisco, are in the custody of Durham County Animal Control.

The pit bulls are accused of attacking three different dogs, with the latest attack taking place in Durham early Tuesday morning.

Tim and Johnnisha Downey said their Shar-Pei, named Solo, was chained on the porch of their home at 104 S. Plumb St. when he was attacked by the two pit bulls. Solo suffered wounds to the jaw, leg and stomach.

"They just had him locked. I mean, he was just locked and he just stopped moving. They were shaking him and everything. They wouldn't let him go," Johnnisha Downey said.

In March, the pit bulls escaped from their pen, bit Kae Enright and mauled her pug while they were walking in Chapel Hill. The pit bulls were returned to the owner, Ralph Logner of Chapel Hill, after Orange County Animal Control officials approved new fencing around their pen.

Several days later, Chapel Hill police found the dogs on the loose in a parking lot. One of them had attacked another dog.

In late April, while the dogs were under quarantine,someone broke into the Orange County animal shelter and stole the pit bulls. The dogs were found about a month later and returned to the animal shelter.

Logner recently paid a $300 fine and was given back the two pit bulls.

In the latest incident, the dogs were spending the night in Durham with Logner's friend, who lives next door to the Downeys.

The man said Roscoe and Cisco are not fighting dogs; however, he also said that the dogs tore through his fence, which show bite marks and fur. On the other side of that fence was Solo, who was chained to the porch next door.

"It's sickening for dogs to be released like this. I have a 4-year-old. What if it was broad daylight and they did the same thing?" Johnissha Downey said.

The man watching the pit bulls paid Solo's $400 vet bill.

Tuesday's attack happened in Durham, but the legal record on the dogs is on file in Orange County. Under the laws of both counties, a hearing to determine whether a dog should be destroyed is not held until after a dog attacks a second time.

One of the two cases in Orange County was dropped, so Logner can pick up the dogs and take them home. The only restriction he faces is how he houses them.