Pit bull ordered destroyed in attack
A Montgomery County judge ruled on Tuesday afternoon to euthanize a dog that attacked a 3year-old girl this month inside a Spring restaurant, though a representative for the dog owner is appealing the decision.
Following three days of testimony in court, Precinct 3 Justice of the Peace Matt Beasley ruled that Kingston, a Staffordshire bull terrier owned by 46-year-old Jennifer Romano, should be put down.
The judge rejected an argument from Romano’s defense attorney that the dog could be retrained, saying he did not believe it was a viable option. In a harsh rebuke, Beasley said Romano demonstrated a lack of care and responsibility when she fled from the restaurant following the attack.
“I do believe that this would happen again,” the judge said. “I don’t trust you’re a good handler for that dog . ... It’s by your own hand and your actions that led us here today.”
Kingston lunged and bit Ronin Waldroup on the face, shaking her until the owner yanked back on the leash, when the girl entered the Loose Caboose restaurant on Jan. 9, said the girl’s mother Cleveratta GordonWaldroup. She rushed her daughter to the bathroom to wash the wounds before an ambulance arrived. Witnesses said the attack was unprovoked and that Romano ran to her car and drove away, telling the girl’s father: “It’s your daughter’s fault.”
John Kovach, an attorney representing Romano, said he plans to appeal the court’s ruling and called the case a “tragedy for all parties involved.”
“We are praying Ronin has a total recovery. Ms. Romano loves Kingston and is not willing to give up on him. An appeal is forthcoming,” Kovach said.
Maureen Farrell, counsel for the Waldroup family, said she thinks the judge’s decision was “difficult, but wise.” The family is considering a civil case against Romano and the restaurant where the attack occurred, Farrell said. Criminal charges against Romano are also possible, although none have been filed.
“Ronin has very serious injuries that could have been prevented,” Farrell said, adding that the girl “had the right to be safe in that restaurant.”
Gordon-Waldroup said she and her husband were “very pleased” with the decision and will continue to push for justice following the appeal, which Kovach said he plans to file within 10 days.
“My husband and I do not wish for any other child, person or family to have to go through the trauma that we are currently living day to day,” she said in a statement, adding that her daughter “is terrified to even hear a dog bark on the
television. She doesn’t want to leave the house because there is a chance that she may see a dog.”
Assistant County Attorney Ronald Chin argued Tuesday morning in closing statements that Kingston should be put down to prevent future attacks, while Kovach unsuccessfully implored the judge to give the dog a second chance. Romano has said that the dog is an emotional support animal and it was wearing a vest labeling it as a service dog on the day of the attack.
The case hinged on a statute in the Texas Health and Safety Code that says a court may order a dog killed if it finds that the dog
caused serious bodily injury, as defined by the same code, to a person.
Chin showed photos of the victim’s bloody, bruised and swollen face. The child required 14 stitches and will need plastic surgery, Gordon-Waldroup said in court.
“We want to make sure this doesn’t happen again to anyone else in Montgomery County,” Chin said.
Romano’s doctor wrote a letter stating that service animals help Romano with her general anxiety disorder, but did not specify Kingston by name.
Dogs that only provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service
animals, according to the Americans with Disabilities Act. The act defines a service animal as a dog trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability.
Service animal handlers are not required to have certification, registration or professional training. However, Romano registered Kingston as a service dog through the United States Service Dog Registry, a website offering free voluntary service dog registration. But according to the website, registration “does not make a dog a Service Dog — it allows someone to hold themselves to a community defined standard.”
Kingston’s registration on the website has since been revoked.
Conflicting testimony surrounded Kingston’s previous bite history. Montgomery County officials said the dog has no recorded bite history, but that they had heard rumor of other incidents.
In recent years, Romano has been named in multiple lawsuits surrounding a different pit bull, Gus, she claimed to be rehabilitating through her now-defunct business, Maggie’s House Rescue.
In a similar hearing in 2013, a Montgomery County judge ruled that Gus caused serious bodily injury and ordered the dog euthanized. However, Romano appealed the decision and reached an agreement to send the dog to a training site run by television personality Cesar Millan in California. At the same time, she was ordered to pay $1.3 million in damages in a personal injury lawsuit filed in Harris County by the victim.
Romano removed Gus from the California facility before he completed rehabilitation, and six days later, the pit bull attacked another woman. The dog has since been put down.