'Doesn't Deserve To Have Those Animals': Charges Filed Against Owner After Dogs Attack 6 People In Little Egg Harbor
LITTLE EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, N.J. (CBS) -- Charges have been filed against the owner of some dogs who attacked half-dozen people in Little Egg Harbor, Ocean County. Some even had to be hospitalized.
Nick Leonardis came home to find his mother-in-law hysterical on Monday afternoon. When he checked his home surveillance system, he saw why.
"Kept telling me your neighbor saved my life," Leonardis said.
Leonardis' neighbor fought off several loose dogs that ran amok Monday afternoon in the Mystic Island section of Little Egg Harbor Township. Police say at least six people were attacked and four were taken to the hospital for their injuries.
"The one lady that I saw, she had severe lacerations on her forearm and elbow area," Little Egg Harbor Police Chief Richard Buzby said.
Police say the three dogs came from a house on Lake Placid Drive where they've gotten loose at least seven times in the last four months, biting more and more people each time.
Police say the dog's owner, Esau Morales, defied a court order to remove at least two of the dogs and secure his fence. He's now facing a half-dozen municipal and at least one criminal charge.
The dogs are now being kept away from Morales and a judge may order that they need to be euthanized for repeated dangerous behavior.
"We're not seeking anything except that they never be returned to this neighborhood and that owner," Buzby said. "He's not responsible, he doesn't deserve to have those animals."
Leonardis says the reason his neighbor was attacked is he was warning nearby parents the dogs were on the loose just minutes before kids were about to get off their buses.
"I mean, it could have been really, really bad," Leonardis said.
