Dogged by questions

By Ed Runyan

Rottweiler was hit by cruiser

The dogs’ owner said they apparently escaped by breaking a hole through a backyard fence.

YOUNGSTOWN — The owner of two large dogs that caused a stir outside a Circle K store on the West Side early Monday said he wants to know what really happened that night.

Patrick Patoray, 43, of Millet Avenue owns five Rottweiler dogs, two of which escaped from his fenced-in backyard in the middle of the night Sunday.

About 3:30 a.m., Youngstown police were called to the 1821 Mahoning Ave. store. The two dogs had traveled a block or so from their home to the Circle K lot, where one of them was barking aggressively at the door.

A police report from that night says two officers responded, called for a dog warden, waited 30 to 45 minutes, then acted on their own when the dog warden didn’t arrive.

The report says officers used their cars to herd the dogs away from the store, causing one of the dogs to get hit by a cruiser.

Neither dog was recovered by police.

Patoray said one of the dogs, a 10-year-old male named Sampson, didn’t come home for two days. The dog had walked to the nearby Calvary Cemetery and stayed there. Workers there figured out whom he belonged to because of an advertisement for a missing dog Patoray had placed in The Vindicator.

Patoray had read the news article about the incident, which led him to question a number of actions taken by police — such as why they didn’t employ other methods of controlling his dogs that would have protected the people and the animals.

He has since learned that the department’s Internal Affairs Division also has questions.

Lt. Rod Foley, head of the Internal Affairs Division, said the initial police report appears inaccurate because it differs from the account given by Detective Sgt. Brian Flynn, whose cruiser reportedly hit Sampson.

Foley said he met with Patoray, explained that the matter is under investigation and took photos of the dogs. He described the dogs as hearty, noted that Sampson is limping because of a leg injury, and said Sadie recently had pups.

Foley said he plans to talk to the clerks working that night and to the officers involved, obtain any surveillance tape available at the store and find out why no dog warden responded.

Foley said officers wanted to use snares to capture the dogs, but had only one snare. An air horn was used to get the dogs away from the convenience store.

But when Sampson started back across the street, he turned in front of Flynn’s cruiser and bounced off the car, Foley said, quoting a report Flynn submitted after the event. “Flynn said he never intentionally hit the dog,” the lieutenant said.

The initial report was written by Patrolwoman Bridget Quinn who had an hour to go on her shift; Flynn was at the end of his shift, Foley said.

In Quinn’s report, she said officers “did consider shooting both dogs but were unable to because of the building and people traveling near and around the building.”

Patoray, who has raised Rottweilers for 15 years, said he is very concerned that officers would consider shooting the animals in such a situation.

When Patoray talked to Foley, he asked: “‘Why would you think of shooting the dog when it didn’t hurt nobody or maul nobody?’”

As reported by Flynn and confirmed by Patoray, Sampson is a “timid” dog. Patoray said Sampson is 10 years old and walks slowly.

The other dog, Sadie, is “feisty,” he acknowledged.

Patoray said snares — devices with a wire on a stick that can be tightened around a dog’s neck — or pepper spray seem to be better alternatives to using cars to herd his dogs.

“I’m upset that they were using police cars to ram the dog instead of using pepper spray,” he said.

Patoray said the part of the police report that said the dogs appeared to be “malnourished” is untrue.

“Do they look malnourished?” he asked, as he stood next to Sampson, whom he estimates at 140 pounds. “I’ll feed my dogs before I feed myself,” said Patoray, who works as a cement finisher.

Patoray said he knows Sampson and Sadie are big dogs, but Sampson pretty much just “mopes around,” so he doesn’t understand why anyone would feel threatened by him.

Patoray said the dogs have the proper tags and shots, and their escape was not because of negligence.

It appears the dogs broke a hole through his fence to escape, he said.

He said he wonders whether they broke out to get at a person or animal that was “snooping around” outside of the fence.

runyan@vindy.com