HEARING SET FOR DOGS WHO KILLED NEIGHBORS PUPPY

A public hearing will be held in Yucca Valley Tuesday, September 1, to determine if three boxers should be declared potentially dangerous dogs. On Friday, August 21, three boxers owned by Keith and Michelle Squires got into the back yard of Jacqueline Ratliff of the 57400 block of St. Mary’s Drive about 8 a.m. and attacked and killed her two-month-old Chihuahua puppy. The three boxers are being held at the animal shelter pending the hearing. Presiding over the hearing will be attorney John Burdick, who will hear from both owners. If Burdick rules that the dogs are potentially dangerous, the Squires have limited options: follow guidelines set by the town, to include locking the dogs in a secure fenced area from which they can’t escape; and obtaining insurance coverage in the amount of $100,000. If the Squires move the dogs out of Yucca Valley, they will have to comply with the regulations concerning potentially dangerous dogs in their new area. The Squires could also choose to put the dogs to sleep, or turn them over to the town’s animal shelter. The Squires have had one other complaint filed against their dogs, by the same neighbor last year. The hearing officer will have 10 days to make his decision. The hearing will be held in the Mesquite Room of the Yucca Valley Community Center starting at 3 p.m.