- March 11, 2025
In separate incidents, pit bulls attacked a man and a cat. The victim said the dogs approached from out of nowhere and one lunged at his face.
BY MATT MENCARINI | STAFF WRTIER
Pit bulls belonging to an Ormond Beach Police Department community service officer attacked a man and a cat Nov. 16, in separate incidents.
An officer responded to the call, about two at-large and "aggressive" pit bulls attacking people in a subdivision. Shannon Champion, also a community service officer, responded to the call, as well. She identified the dogs as hers, and got them back into her home.
“I was walking from the mailbox up to my front door,” Ray Batier said. “I looked at (the dogs) and as soon as they made eye contact with me they came charging at me. One was airborne and came right at my face.”
Batier said he was able to fight the dogs off with a stick and described one of them as tan and the other as black and white. He said both were short and stocky.
“It was around the time that there could be kids around, or other people not as able to fight them off,” he said of the incident, which was called in at 3:52 p.m.
While the community service officer was speaking with Batier, a woman pulled up in a vehicle and said her cat was attacked by two dogs matching the description.
The officer then made contact with the woman’s husband, Mark Andrews, who said he witnessed the two dogs attack his 10-year-old Siamese cat in his front yard and toss it around “like a rag doll” before he was able to chase them away.
Andrews told police his cat would be evaluated by a veterinarian and treated for its injuries.
Lt. Kenny Hayes said the patrol supervisor was made aware of the call, but it was handled by the community service officers, which is standard procedure for similar animal control-related calls.
Champion was named in a 2010 police department investigation of its evidence room. She wasn’t brought up on charges, but the investigation cited concerns over her ability to keep accurate financial records.
