Former owner says dog blamed in mauling was not violent

| Thursday, July 10, 2003 10:00 PM PDT ∞

JOHN HALL
Staff Writer

The pit bull that authorities say mauled a Murrieta toddler to death in Good Hope last month was not violent and prosecutors should not have filed charges in the case, the dog's former owner said Thursday.

Julie Ramos, 33, of Lake Elsinore, said she gave the dog to Jackie Batey less than six months ago.

Batey, 30, has been charged with one count of child endangerment and one count of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the June 20 death of 2-year-old Somer Clugston, Chief Deputy District Attorney Mike Soccio announced Wednesday. If convicted, she faces up to six years in state prison, Soccio said.

Ramos said she met Batey two years ago through a mutual friend.

Ramos says she originally owned the pit bull that reportedly mauled Somer, adding that the dog was only 7 months old. The dog lived with her for about 1 1/2 months and had spent the last 5 1/2 months with the Bateys, Ramos said late Thursday.

Authorities have previously said the dog was about 1 to 2 years old. No one involved in the investigation into Somer's death could be reached for comment Thursday night.

"We called the dog 'Licky' because all it ever did was lick people," Ramos said.

"This puppy was the most loveable puppy," she added. "This was a very loving dog."

The Bateys called the dog "Baby Boy," Ramos said.

According to previous information provided by authorities, Somer died after being mauled outside the Batey home on Phillips Road in Good Hope, an unincorporated community west of Perris. Somer and her 1-year-old brother had been dropped off at Batey's home and she was baby-sitting them, authorities said.

The dog was euthanized by authorities after the attack.

Ramos said that the entire Batey family has been devastated by what happened. "They're all blaming themselves," she said.

Ramos said she talked to Jackie Batey earlier Thursday. "She told me that it's no one's fault. That it was just a terrible, terrible accident," Ramos said.

"She's like June Cleaver from 'Leave It To Beaver;' she's so kind and sweet," Ramos said of Batey.

Batey has not been able to be reached for comment since the attack happened.

Soccio said Wednesday that Batey was charged because people interviewed by investigators told them the pit bull had previously bitten people and animals and that Batey knew of the dog's violent behavior.

Ramos, however, says authorities might be blaming the wrong dog.

Ramos said the Bateys have lived at the home on Phillips Road for about 10 months. The renters of the home before the Bateys had two full-grown pit bulls, Ramos said she's been told. That could have led neighbors to think "Baby Boy" was the violent one, when it may have been one belonging to the previous renters, Ramos said.

"I believe they've mistaken this dog (involved in the mauling) with one of the other ones," she said.

Authorities could not be reached Thursday night to comment on whether that was a possibility.

Ramos said she saw "Baby Boy" two or three times a week at the Batey home, the last time about two days before Somer was killed.

She says the dog was around children all the time, including her own. "I never saw that dog get aggressive at all," Ramos said.

According to one dog behavior counselor, a pit bull could have been showing signs of aggression that someone who is not used to detecting dog behaviors could have overlooked.

Pia McGovern, a Redwood City-based certified dog trainer and canine-behavior counselor who specializes in aggressive behaviors in dogs, said that while pit bulls have aggressive traits, any dog can become a dangerous dog. "People can't read the signs up to an attack or bite," she said.

Signs usually show up when the dog is between the ages of 1 and 2, but could pop up earlier, said McGovern, who is the director of K-9 Insight Obedience, a dog training school in Redwood City.

One sign is what dog trainers call "freezing," or when the dog freezes in the middle of an activity when approached by a person or animal. Another is known as the "hard-eyed stare" and occurs when the dog stares at a person or animal. "It's looking at how this dog looks at birds or bunnies when they go by," she said.

A more obvious sign of aggressive behavior is growling or the dog showing its teeth. "Most people know that and will turn away at that time," McGovern said.

Pit bulls, specifically, have been bred through history to attack and fight someone or something they see as prey and trainers have been trying for years to rid such canines of that ferocity, she said.

"Pit bulls have an inherently high prey-drive. That behavior is an innate hard-wired behavior. ... A 2-year-old, depending on what she was doing, could have been perceived as prey," McGovern said.

Because no one was around when the attack occurred, there is no way of knowing what could have led up to the attack that killed Somer, McGovern said. And since the dog has since been euthanized, it is too late to run tests to see if the attacking pit bull had high aggression characteristics, she added.

McGovern said pit bull owners need to be aware of the their pet's traits. "They are different from other dogs. In harboring a pit bull you have to take care of that dog and watch it to make sure that it doesn't do something bad."

Staff writer Louise Cannon contributed to this report. Contact staff writer John Hall at (909) 676-4315, Ext. 2628, or jhall@californian.com.

7/11/03

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