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SEQUIM — The American bulldog that injured an elderly Port Angeles woman last week is scheduled to be euthanized Sunday.
The 9-month-old dog, named Duke, on May 27 attacked 73-year-old Jenelle Vivian Gilbert — a resident of Hansen Road in west Port Angeles — while she was walking along her driveway to get her mail.
The bulldog caused serious injuries to Gilbert’s face, arms and legs.
Gilbert said Monday she was treated at Olympic Medical Center and discharged last Thursday. She has declined to comment publicly about the attack.
The dog is being held in isolation at the Olympic Peninsula Humane Society at 2105 U.S. Highway 101 west of Port Angeles.
The dog is owned by her neighbor Donald Wenzl, 43, a sergeant who has worked for the past 17 years in the corrections division of the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office.
Wenzl voluntarily took the dog to the Humane Society and asked to have it be put down without prompting from law enforcement, according to Sheriff Bill Benedict.
Had Wenzl not done so, law enforcement could have requested a judgment stating the dog was dangerous and recommend it be destroyed, but that course of action was not necessary, Benedict added.
The bulldog is in a 10-day quarantine to ensure it is not infected with rabies.
Bite broke skin
“That is standard” when an owner can’t produce a rabies vaccination certificate when a bite has broken the skin, said Mary Beth Wegener, Humane Society director.
There is no way to test a living creature for rabies, so veterinarians watch for signs of rabies such as foaming at the mouth during the quarantine period.
So far, the dog has not exhibited any signs of rabies, Wegener added, noting that rabies is “extremely rare” on the North Olympic Peninsula.
“He seems perfectly healthy,” she said.
The dog will be sedated and injected with a cocktail of drugs, ending its life, according to Wegener.
“It is a very humane process and a very common way of euthanizing an animal,” she said.
The investigation has been turned over to Lisa Hopper, code compliance and animal control officer for the city of Sequim, to prevent any appearance of a conflict of interest, Benedict said.
“Lisa Hopper now has the reports, and she is going to determine what kind of citation, if any,” will be presented to Wenzl, he added.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
