Dog’s case remains pending in Broward about 3 months after attack

WILTON MANORS, Fla. – Some residents in a Wilton Manors neighborhood said they are living in fear that authorities could return a dangerous dog. Video shows the attack that prompted the case in October.

Maria Zapata was walking her Australian silky terrier named Wufus, when the dog, which looks like an American Pit Bull Terrier or a mix, attacked them.

Zapata and Wufus were injured. And although animal control confiscated the dog, Wilton Manors code enforcement officers said the case remains open.

“I don’t really know their workings but it is kind of odd to some of us that it has been going on for three months and nobody has heard anything,” Wilton Manors’ resident Ken Coulter said.

As long as the fate of the dog is in the hands of the Broward County court, animal control will be tasked with its care, and Zapata and her neighbors will have to live in limbo.

“They won’t release that dog until this case is closed, so I don’t know what the outcome is going to be,” Wilton Manors resident Don Proietto said.


About the Authors:

Terrell Forney joined Local 10 News in October 2005 as a general assignment reporter. He was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, but a desire to escape the harsh winters of the north brought him to South Florida.

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.