LAYTON -- The owner of two dogs that are alleged to have bitten a neighbor and attacked her 8-year-old Pekingese has been cited with a class C misdemeanor in 2nd District Court in Layton.
Layton resident Dave Bingham has been cited for having a dog at large. The charge carries a maximum fine of $750 and/or 90 days in jail, said Assistant City Prosecutor Clint Drake.
The charge stems from a July 5 incident when Bingham's dogs gained access to the backyard of George and Beckie Vega.
Beckie Vega was bitten on the left foot by one of Bingham's dogs. She said she was trying to rescue the Pekingese.
Bingham said he has yet to be notified of the citation or a court date, but will be pleading not guilty.
"I want a judge to hear this case. I need a judge to hear everything," he said. "My dogs deserve better than this. They are victims in this case."
Attempts to reach the Vegas were unsuccessful.
Because of conflicting reports and the amount of evidence that continued to stream into the city regarding the incident, Drake said, there was a delay in the review of the case.
Upon completing its review, he said, the city did not request that the court order Bingham's dogs to be euthanized as George Vega had requested.
Bingham's dogs entered the Vegas' backyard by jumping over a fence while the family was doing yardwork and attacked Lilo, their Pekingese, George Vega said in an earlier Standard-Examiner article.
Lilo sustained internal and external wounds, resulting in 30 stitches, Beckie Vega said.
Bingham, who was not home when the incident occurred, said he is having a hard time believing the Vegas' story. He said if his dogs did attack, it is because the Vega family has antagonized them in the past.
In addition to being cited by Layton city, Davis County Animal Care & Control quarantined Bingham's dogs for 10 days, labeling them as potentially dangerous animals and requiring they be leashed at all times in public and kept in an enclosed kennel when left unattended at Bingham's home.
The county also required Bingham to build an enclosed kennel for Willie, a black Lab mix, and Blue, a blue-eyed Australian shepherd mix, and construct a more secure fence between his property and the Vegas' backyard.
Bingham said the fence work and the kennel cost about $2,000.
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