Dangerous Dog Appeals Court – dogs, airport runway & geese prove to be tough combination

The featured case Wednesday evening involved a dog attack, an airport runway and geese. Bruce Jackson’s Labrador, “Jackson Brown”, attacked and severely injured “Yodi” on the airport runway at Pilots Ridge. Pilots Ridge is a unique subdivision in New Hanover County that actually contains an airport runway. Bruce Jackson did not realize a chihuahua was nearby when he let “Jackson Brown” run loose due to the lack of light at the time of the incident.

Janna Williams owns “Yodi”. She’s made 27 vet visits so far. More are expected. Bruce Jackson’s homeowner’s insurance is taking care of all the medical expenses. “Yodi” has been in a body cast since the incident.

Before ruling on the case dog court panelist John Boozer said ” We can certainly empathize in what he was trying to do. Getting geese off an airport runway. After that episode in New York where the plane came down due to geese you can see what the purpose was. By the same token the dogs were not leashed when this occurred.”

As it turns out the panelists upheld “Jackson Brown” as a dangerous dog with two exceptions. Panelist Joyce Bradley read the ruling. “Jackson Brown has been found guilty of violating New Hanover County code 5-61. The reasons for this are potentially dangerous, killing or inflicting serious injury to a domestic animal when not on the owner’s real property. The exception concerns the time the dog is home. The dog will have to adhere to all dangerous dog guidelines when he’s off property, but there won’t be a need for a gentle lead or a leash when he’s in his own backyard as long as he has adult supervision.”