Pet Owners Partly Satisfied After Pit Bull Court Case

A Fulton County Magistrate Judge ordered Akil Kontar to pay veterinarian bills and corresponding costs totaling more than $5,000 for pit bull attacks that seriously wounded two family dogs in Sandy Springs on Feb. 7. 

In addition, the dogs are not allowed to return to the neighborhood.

“In State of Georgia law, because the dogs have not attacked human beings, I cannot order the dogs to be [put down], “ said Judge Stefani R. Lacour.

Family pets are considered property, the judge explained.

In an incident last fall, another pit bull, owned by Kontar, ran towards a neighbor and attacked her dog. The woman fell trying to get her dog out of harm's way.

She did not attend Tuesday's hearing, but nearly 10 residents from Amberidge subdivision and the surrounding neighborhood were in court to urge the judge to keep the pit bulls out of their community.

Dan Goerke and Lissy Cowdery graphically described attacks on each of their dogs. 

Cowdery was out running errands that day, when the pit bulls mangled a chain-linked fence to get inside her yard and attack Diesel, her black Labrador retriever.

Cowdery told the judge, “When I returned home, my neighbor came running down the hill with towels and blood on them. She was frantic, and she said, ‘Your dog is dead.’ “

Diesel survived but will need subsequent surgeries, Cowdery said.

In court with his wife and daughter, Kontar told the judge, “I’m not in denial of anything that happened and I’m here to accept full responsibility.”

Kontar said the pit bulls were double-fenced in the yard of the home he rents at the corner of Amberidge Trail and River Valley Road. But, his 12-year-old son left the inner fence open earlier in the day. 

“My daughter comes home from school; instead of coming in the front, she goes around the back and leaves the [outer] gate open too,” He said.

The dogs got out. They ran through the neighborhood terrifying residents, stopping at the Goerke and Cowdery homes. 

On the day of the attacks, Kontar, who is a music producer, and his wife were out of town. His 10 and 12-year-old children were home with a sitter, he said.

Judge Lacour intends for the pit bulls to remain with Fulton County Animal Services through March 22, the next court date for the case. At that time, Kontar must show that he has paid most of Goerke and Cowdery’s veterinary bills. If he has not paid restitution, fines will be assessed, the judge said.

Cowdery said that Kontar also agreed to repay $1,200 for an airline trip that she had to cancel when Diesel was attacked.

Kontar believes the mother of his dogs - the pit bull in the fall attack - was poisoned. That dog is buried in the front yard, he said.

He told the court that he plans to send the two remaining pit bulls to live in Ohio with a dog trainer. They are less than a year old, according to Kantar. His chidren have been around them since they were puppies, he said.

“I just don’t want them to be killed. I love my dogs just like anyone loves their dogs,” he said.

Residents remain concerned that the pit bulls will return to the neighborhood. Witnessing the attacks and Kontar's bloody dogs running through the community, two weeks ago, was like something from a movie, they said.

During court, Goerke told the judge that his German shepherd hound, Zoey, is still traumatized by the attack.

“What assurances do we have that they will not be brought back to the house for an interim period,” said Goerke, after the hearing.