COUNTY
Jones County’s Dangerous Dog committee met last month to determine the fate of three dogs reported multiple times for violations.
The hearing about the dangerous dogs took place April 13 at the Government Center with the evidence presented by Animal Services Manager Jennifer Allen and witnesses to the attacks of the three dogs involved.
All three dogs are owned by Jason Robert Moss.
According to Georgia law, a dangerous dog is a dog that, without provocation, inflicts severe injury on a human, or a dog that, without provocation, aggressively bites, attacks or endangers the safety of humans.
Jones County’s Code was amended in June of 2010 to include dangerous dog controls, and the Dangerous Dog Committee was formed. Prior to that committee, Jones County had an Animal Control Board that was appointed in 2007.
Allen said Moss’s three dogs went into a neighbor’s yard March 13, attacked and killed the dog. She said the neighbor’s dog had also been attacked by the dogs the previous day.
The name of the dogs accused in the attack were Caesar, Bella and Little Man.
“Mr. Moss has proved he is not a responsible dog owner,” the manager said.
She said Moss acknowledged a previous attack on the same dog and even paid the vet bill.
Allen submitted bite reports about the dogs dating back to 2016 from neighbors and one from a delivery man.
She said Moss had been taken to court about leash law violations and said he had fixed his fences.
“But when we went to retrieve the dogs, that was not the case,” Allen said.
Moss asked to come forward to speak in defense of the dogs. He stated that he was not aware of the complaints of human bites. He said the dog Caesar was the aggressor and the others had nothing to do with the attacks.
A neighbor attending the hearing said she and her husband walk five or six days a week, and the dog Little Man had bitten her husband.
“He’s not telling the truth that he had no knowledge,” she said.
Moss continued to deny knowing about the bites to people and stated again that he had the fence repaired. He later admitted the fence did not hold them and stated the dogs had shock collars to keep them in the yard.
Committee Chairman Leman Wood asked Moss what he thought should happen to Caesar, and Moss said the dog would not hurt a fly. He said the dog only had a problem with the one dog that was killed.
The owner said the human bites were from Little Man, but he contended that the dog was not like that anymore.
The owner of the dog killed in the attack said she has text messages going back three years asking Moss to keep his dogs on his property. She said her dog was an inside dog and was on a leash when he was outside.
“His dogs are aggressive to my son and my father. What I witnessed that day was his dogs tearing my dog apart,” she said. “I have asked him again and again.”
A report of the incident by Jones County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Ayla Morris was consistent with the owner’s account, including finding her dog dead as well as observing blood on two of the three dogs that belonged to Moss.
Another neighbor gave evidence that within the last six months he saw Moss’s dogs out of their yard and chasing a fawn and its mother. He said his wife also saw the dogs attack a fox.
Allen said based on the evidence presented and Moss’s inability to keep the dogs at home she felt enough had been presented to deem the three dogs dangerous.
The hearing was adjourned, and the committee entered into closed session.
Attorney Mark Usher represented the county attorney at the meeting. A letter was sent to Moss the following day by County Attorney Ashley Brodie with the committee’s decision. The letter stated that all three dogs were classified as dangerous as of April 13. The owner was instructed that if he wished to keep one of the dogs, he would have to make application for a certificate of registration.
By law, only one dangerous dog certificate can be issued per domicile. The dog must be maintained in an enclosure approved by an animal control officer.
Moss was in Magistrate Court April 25 due to citations he received for violation of Jones County’s leash law that were issued to him by Morris March 12. He was ordered to pay a $240 fine for one of the violations, and the other two were dismissed.
As of Friday, May 5, Allen said she has not been contacted by Moss in response to the April 13 letter. She said another letter was overnighted to him in order to confirm it was received. That letter gave him another 14 days to respond.
