Family argument leads to Thanksgiving dog attack in Santa Clara

Santa Clara/Ivins Animal Control responds to a multiple-victim dog attack Thanksgiving night, Santa Clara, Utah, Nov. 23, 2017 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

SANTA CLARA — Police are saying it was a family argument that triggered a dog attack inside a Santa Clara home on Thanksgiving, sending six people to the hospital.

Santa Clara-Ivins Police released additional information to St. George News on Tuesday.

The incident began Nov. 23 at around 8 p.m. when the St. George Communications Center received a call reporting that several family members were victims of a dog attack that took place at a residence on Crestview Drive.

Multiple officers, firefighters and emergency medical personnel respond to a multiple-victim dog attack Thanksgiving night, Santa Clara, Utah, Nov. 23, 2017 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

Officers and emergency personnel transported six individuals to Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George to be treated for their injuries while Santa Clara-Ivins animal control officers removed multiple dogs from the residence to the Ivins Animal Shelter.

Read more: Family members taken to hospital after dog attack on Thanksgiving

The incident began as a domestic disturbance that was reported inside of the residence, Santa Clara-Ivins Police Public Information Officer Randy Hancey said.

One of the dogs, a female housed in a metal dog crate while nursing a litter of puppies, became agitated during the escalating argument among family members. The crate was located inside of the home during the dispute, Hancey added.

The female dog was able to get out of the crate through a damaged door that did not close properly and “started biting people during the fight,”  Hancey said, adding that the dog’s protective instincts would have been elevated with the new litter she was caring for, which could have contributed to the situation.

The investigation into the incident was complicated by the number of people present when the alleged attack occurred, he said, and scheduling interviews to determine what actually happened that night has been fraught with delays and difficulties.

Read more: UPDATE: 4 arrests made in Thanksgiving dog attack in Santa Clara Dec. 1, 2017

Per the previous report on the incident, it is the Santa Clara/Ivins animal control policy to remove all animals from a home where an animal bite has occurred. However, this incident is still under investigation, and authorities are unsure how many animals were involved in the actual attack.

Any animal that has bitten a person is often required by law to be quarantined for a period of time, usually one week to 10 days depending on the pet’s vaccine status and local laws, and allows the dog to be tested for rabies or to verify that they have been vaccinated, Leavitt said.

The nature of the injuries sustained by the individuals is not being released due to privacy laws, but Hancey said all victims were treated at the hospital and have since been released.

The dogs remain in the animal shelter at the writing of this report.

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Twitter: @STGnews

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.

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10 Comments

  • DRT November 29, 2017 at 8:28 pm

    So the people involved were not adult enough to maintain. Now the dogs are very likely to pay the price. Frankly, I prefer dogs to people. 🙁

  • Rob83 November 30, 2017 at 7:28 am

    Wait, so the momma dog is jailed, where are the pups!? Why are you being so vague about this and making me panic for the pups saftey? Wait to go humans, goes to show you the ugliness heated words have, wouldn’t doubt there was physical abuse going on as well if a dog had to intervine, let that poor dog out and back with her pups! This makes me sick…

    • Uncle Lenny November 30, 2017 at 9:12 am

      “The dogs remain in the animal shelter at the writing of this report.“

      Dogs, plural.

    • Avatar photo Paul Dail November 30, 2017 at 10:22 am

      Rob83, thanks for your comment (and your concern for the animal welfare). Per the previous report on the incident (and we did add this detail to this report as a reminder), all of the dogs were removed from the house per the Santa Clara/Ivins animal control policy. We are certainly not trying to be intentionally vague; we are just still trying to confirm additional details of the attack, which is under investigation.

      Thanks again for your comment and for reading St. George News.

      Paul Dail
      ST. GEORGE NEWS
      Editor, Reporter

  • JOSH DALTON November 30, 2017 at 8:02 am

    So they locked to dog up. They took the mother away from her puppies because of the humans and locked her up. Sounds like the family members should be in jail not the dog. I’m just going to assume the dog is a pit bull. Why does trailer trash feel compelled get pit bulls? maybe if the animal was a Yorkie, nobody would have needed to go to the hospital, the dog would not be locked up, and my tax dollars would not have to pay for the emergency crews dispatched to the scene. Plus, if the family would have invested some of the money they spend on breeding dogs on therapy then this could have been avoided. GO FALCONS!

    • Holden November 30, 2017 at 10:02 am

      Three people from the house were arrested yesterday evening. So there’s more to this.

  • Badshitzoo November 30, 2017 at 8:47 am

    Why is there no mention of the dog breed?

  • comments November 30, 2017 at 4:36 pm

    yea, i agree with the poster that asked: why is it always trashy, lowlife, druggy people that are breeding pitbulls in their houses or yards? I’m sure they found meth, dope, pills, etc in the house with this crew

  • PlanetU November 30, 2017 at 8:27 pm

    The dogs are better off at the shelter or anywhere else but with those scumbag humans(?) They all belong in a crate and let the dogs out. Planet Utah……

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