Coronado's Most Read Newspaper & Community Website

Coronado Dog Beach Mauling Falls on Deaf Ears

CORONADO - A local woman is speaking out after her Chichuahua "Hercules" was fatally mauled by another dog at Coronado's Dog Beach. An attempt was made immediately after the incident, unfortunately the matter became more of an issue of jurisdiction, rather than a crime.

Read the entire San Diego CW6 story here.

Tags: community, crime

0 members like this

Comment by Patti Peterson on September 20, 2012 at 12:47pm: I am so sorry to hear about Hercules.

Comment by Madison W. on September 20, 2012 at 4:37pm: I am very sorry to hear this news about yet another dog attack at Dog Beach. There have been many attacks in the past 6 months which the citizens of Coronado are not aware of, I own a dog and would never take him to Dog Beach. My husband is in the military and has heard numerous attacks via dispatch from both base security and the Coronado Police. Dog Beach is federal property run by the city of Coronado. I think it is totally wrong to allow non-residents of Coronado to travel over the bridge and bring their dogs to a city-run public beach. A majority of the dogs that are brought here to Coronado are then left behind/or abandoned therefore our animal control facility is full and has to now send strays over the bridge to San Diego. The taxpayers of Coronado are footing the bill for these animals left behind and wreaking havoc on our beach, not to mention if a beloved pet of a Coronado local got loose, that pet would be carted right over to San Diego which is an inconvenience for anyone living in Coronado.

I think the best thing to do is to either close dog beach and look for other means of dog socialization such as a permanent dog park within the Tidelands Park area, the park itself has plenty of unused land to construct a fenced in dog park. Yes it would take funds, but if ever approved, all residents of Coronado should receive some type of ID card and maybe a key to allow entry into the dog park. There is a nice dog park out at Otay Ranch Town Center but it is a far drive.

I have seen many stray dogs roaming the golf course at North Island due to the fact that they can walk right around the fence at Dog Beach. It's time to do something about the attacks at Dog Beach and either shut it down, pay a city employee to ID everyone entering Dog Beach or to construct a safer dog facility.

One day a child will end up being attacked, if it hasn't already happened.

Comment by Madison W. on September 20, 2012 at 9:33pm: The way it works is that "Dog Beach" yes, is Federal Property however, it is what the Navy refers to as "Concurrent jurisdiction". Meaning both Local and Federal agencies "share" jurisdiction of the property. What normally happens is when "Calls to Service" happen the Military Police will more than likely initially respond and access the situation. If it involves Military personnel then the Military will take care of their own. If the parties involved are civilians and Coronado Police are willing, the local authorities are passed the case for further possible investigation and prosecution if a crime occurred.
NBC loans the land to Coronado on a gesture of good will and community relations for recreational purposes. Therefore, with the Navy loaning the Federal land and allowing unrestricted/uncontrolled access to civilians, it TRULY can't be under "exclusive jurisdiction" of the Navy and Military Police.
I know of this matter and hear of Coronado Police being called and assuming cases there all the time. Someone messed this up and in her case, if she is a civilian Coronado should have been called and involved.

Comment by Jerry Toci on September 20, 2012 at 9:35pm: This question about "jurisdiction" is ridiculous. Coronado can definitely enforce Municipal Code on Dog Beach, and state law REQUIRES Coronado to enforce its codes. North Island NAS is a federal facility, but it is WITHIN THE CORONADO CITY LIMITS. That is why police officers routinely go onto NASNI to arrest shoplifters, etc. They also perform law enforcement duties on the Amphib Base and at Navy housing.

The only way TO Dog Beach is ACROSS Coronado Beach. Therefore, Coronado is responsible for EVERYTHING that happens on Dog Beach. There is a huge lawsuit just waiting to happen due to lousy oversight. And now we're going to allow commercial trucks for weddings on our beach? Unbelievable.

Comment by Madison W. on September 20, 2012 at 9:42pm: Jerry, I am in agreement with your comment to San Diego CW6 via Facebook. The clientele that comes over here with their dogs does frighten me a bit! But again, it is a public beach, not much we can do unless citizens voice their concerns to city council.

Comment by Kelley Kraft Casey on September 21, 2012 at 8:47am: Gang members and pit bulls? I see an occasional pit bull on the beach, but mostly it's the lab and retriever mixes. I see a lot of local people, a lot of families. I see occasional altercations between dogs, most of which are resolved quickly. It is the responsibility of *all* dog owners, even the ones with the littlest dogs, to ensure that their dog behaves appropriately.

How is it that you are able to determine "non-residents" and "gang members"? Instead of closing dog beach, why not close the bridge to all those "non-residents" who are apparently causing so much trouble?

So it's ok to spend money on a fenced dog park, where dog fights still can and do occur, as long as it's only Coronado residents using the dog park? Because Coronado residents and their dogs are always perfect models of citizenship?

And let's make sure we close our restaurants, shops and hotels to "non-residents", and allow only residents with ID cards to do business here. Sheesh.

Comment by Kelley Kraft Casey on September 21, 2012 at 10:02am: The owner admits in the video clip that she didn't see it happen, and that she ran over to her dog. So while of course this is a tragic incident, why wasn't she watching her dog? Go ahead and flame me if you want, but this is a disaster waiting to happen.

There aren't a lot of facts that seem to be available here-- such as what type of dog bit her dog, and why? Was either dog provoked by the other? Did the Chihuahua's owner not realize that letting a tiny dog "play" on a beach full of much bigger dogs had a certain element of risk?

Is there any evidence that points to the dog that inflicted the wound as being a pit bull, or owned by "non-resident" "clientele"?

There are a lot of assumptions and a lot of spin being made both here and on the News 6 site.

Comment by Sharon French on September 21, 2012 at 12:05pm: Regardless of this story -

Dogs and their fecal material is a dumb idea for a public beach. If you are injured or made ill by visiting such a place, it's on you.

Comment by Peter L. Fagan on September 21, 2012 at 2:01pm: I agree that there is a lot of speculation of "facts". The first critical issue is that of jurisdiction. Does anyone have a definite answer as to whether this part of land is exclusive or concurrent jurisdiction. Seems like there are several conflicting statements.

Either way, having a dog beach here is not a good idea and more disaster waiting to happen. We can't make it residents only, and there is a trade off for the residents - keep it open for all comers or close it. In balancing this, I see no upside to having a facility where people bring all kinds of dogs to the beach (Anyone checking for rabies shots, licenses, etc), leave the dogs mess not only on the beach, but also on the neighboring lawns, etc., and those from out of town really bring no benefit to Coronado business, but traffic. So, I think closing it will best benefit the community, and reduce the legal liability that is sure to raise it's head. (Even if it is on exclusive federal property, the city is willingly allowing dogs to cross city beach property to get there, knowing there are dangers and not taking precautions to ensure safety and health.