A Versailles man has detailed an account of a dog attack he suffered back at the end of January.
75-year old Dean Cooley told the Brown County Democrat Message that he was getting a bag of salt from his shop located at 110 East Third Street in Versailles on January 22nd in an attempt to salt his driveway of his home around the corner.
Cooley told the Democrat Message that as he exited his shop, he was confronted by one dog that lunged at him and gnashed its teeth in an attempt to bite him. Cooley attempted to defend himself by positioning the bag of salt between him and the dog and by throwing salt from the bag at the dog. Cooley said he eventually pulled out a knife to defend himself after a second dog barreled at him from a residence and knocked him off of his feet.
The dogs bit at Cooley’s arms, legs, and head. The unidentified owner from the neighboring residence was able to remove one dog from Cooley after Cooley had marked it twice with his knife. The other dog eventually backed down. With Cooley unable to get to his feet and walk to his residence, a neighbor is said to have called 9-1-1.
According to a Brown County Sheriff’s Department report, both dogs were quarantined immediately at the Mt. Sterling Vet Clinic for 10 days under order of the sheriff. According to online court records, no citations have been issued in the incident.
According to the Democrat Message report, Sheriff Justin Oliver told a member of the Versailles Board of Trustees that the village’s leash laws are not up to code. The trustee told Oliver that the village’s attorney disagrees with his interpretation of the code.
The issue is expected to be a part of the Versailles Village Board meeting scheduled for Monday night at 6:30.