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Owner ordered to get rid of Bettendorf dog labeled ‘vicious’

The owner of a dog that bit a 13-year-old boy faces multiple citations and a city order demanding he get the dog out of Bettendorf by the last day of March.
German Shepherd dog photo from pedigreedatabase.com

The owner of a dog that bit a 13-year-old boy faces multiple citations and a city order demanding he get the dog out of Bettendorf by the last day of March.

The German Shepherd dog, named Journey, was off its leash near the playground area of Mark Twain Elementary School, 1620 Lincoln Road, when the animal bit the teen Tuesday, March 11, 2014.

Police said the dog owner told the boy to wait for him as he left to secure Journey and another dog, but the man never returned. That led to a frantic search for the dog, to confirm the animal was current on vaccinations. Without that confirmation, the teen would have needed a series of rabies injections.

Three days after the incident, police said they confirmed the identity of the dog and that it was current on vaccinations.

Journey was impounded March 14 and released March 21 after a week in quarantine and owner payment of a $250 fine.

The dog’s owner, 46-year-old Kirk Young of Bettendorf, was cited March 21, 2014, for misdemeanor counts of failure by a dog owner to report a dog bite and animal at large.

In addition to the misdemeanor charges, Young was ordered to get the dog out of Bettendorf.

“Young was personally served a Declaration of Vicious Animal/Animal Nuisance and Order Requiring Abatement letter on March 21, 2014, officially notifying him that his dog has been declared a vicious animal and that it has to be removed from the City of Bettendorf by March 31, 2014,” said a statement from a spokesperson for the city.

If he fails to comply with the order, Young could face the dog being impounded again as well as possible criminal or civil charges for harboring a vicious animal within city limits.

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