Authorities Gather Stray Dogs After Reservation Woman Dies
ROSEBUD, S.D. (AP) — Stray dogs are being rounded up on the Rosebud Indian Reservation after an attack that killed a woman.
Julie Charging Whirlwind, 49, died Saturday after she was surrounded by a pack of dogs and mauled. Tribal Council members on Monday authorized tribal police to work with state wildlife officials to round up stray dogs that are deemed dangerous and impound or euthanize them, the Rapid City Journal reported ( ).
“Can any of us look into the eyes of Julie’s children or her family and say we’re not going to deal with this?” Tribal Council member Kathleen Wooden Knife said during the meeting.
FBI spokesman Kyle Loven said his office is looking into the death of Charging Whirlwind, which came just a few months after the Nov. 18 death of 8-year-old Jayla Rodriguez, who was killed by dogs while she was sledding on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Both reservations in southwest South Dakota have long had problems with roaming stray dogs.
The Oglala Sioux on Pine Ridge also implemented a stray dog roundup, though it came under fire for allegedly being brutally unsophisticated and ensnaring many domestic pets. Tribal officials denied those claims and said the roundup focused only on stray and dangerous dogs.
Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services spokesman Marlin Enno said officials on that reservation will seize only dogs that are stray or unclaimed and aggressive or diseased.
“We’re not killing people’s pets and shooting every dog in the neighborhood,” he said.
Council members also talked of possible long-term fixes for the reservation’s dog problem, including educational efforts for dog owners, mobile clinics to spay and neuter dogs, financial assistance to help dog owners buy leashes and kennels, and the development of a tribal pound.
Alvin Bettelyoun, a Tribal Council member who represents the area where Charging Whirlwind lived, was helping with her funeral arrangements Monday afternoon. He often sat beside Charging Whirlwind at White River High School basketball games, he said, and the two shared a lot of laughs.
“It’s devastating to know she’s not ever going to be sitting there again,” Bettelyoun said.
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Information from: Rapid City Journal,
