The Hartley Sentinel-The Everly/Royal News - Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties

A pair of dogs that attacked an elderly man will be allowed to remain inside Everly limits following a decision Monday by the city council.

Resident Al Grigg was walking on a trail in Everly Community Park on Nov. 3 when two Belgian Malinois dogs, which look similar to German Shepherds, approached him. He stopped, but the dogs still bit him on his arm and leg, drawing blood.

The dogs' owner, Adrian Myers, was charged with violating the city's vicious animal ordinance and ordered to remove or destroy the animals. He appealed to the council, which held a special hearing on the matter.

Mayor Brad Behrens lambasted Myers for failing to control his dogs, which Myers admitted are only kept on his property with a remote control shock collar.

"The first thing you've gotta realize is that the dogs shouldn't have been over there," Behrens said. "When you live in town, your dogs have to stay on your property unless they're leashed. Those dogs had no business of going over to the park...they shouldn't have been close to [Grigg]."

Myers, who was accompanied by his father, Colby, said they are planning to build a four-foot high chain-link fence to keep the dogs on the yard. Behrens noted that the original permit for the fence was issued more than year ago and expired, but was extended after the attack occurred.

Council Member Tara Patrick took issue with the height of the fence. She believed Myers' dogs could easily clear it and wanted him to commit to something taller.

Patrick, who serves as an EMT, was also fearful about the potential for future incidents since the dogs reside right next to the park. She said children in the community are often loosely supervised because Everly is a safe town. She feared young children would be at the park without an adult present and be vulnerable to an attack from Myers' dogs.

"I don't ever want to respond to the park because somebody's dog attacked a kid," she said. "Is that child going to know not to wave his hands around and scream and yell because this big dog is coming at him? No, he's not. He's going to be scared because there is a big dog coming at him."

The Myerses said they were taking the incident seriously. Colby said his wife was "a bundle of nerves" and has hardly slept following the attack.

"We do take the breed that they are and size that they are very seriously," he said. "This is startling for us, because we've never seen it the entire time we've had them. Nothing but playful activity."

Ultimately, the Myerses agreed to build a taller fence. Noting this was the first incident on record regarding the dogs, the council voted 4-0 to rescind the removal order. Council Member Tracey Grigg-Schuver abstained.

"If there had been two incidents on record, this motion wouldn't be on the table right now," said Council Member Shaun Iske. "We're leaving it in your hands to do what it takes to keep those dogs contained on your property, whether that's a six-foot high fence or eight-foot high fence."

Patrick hoped the incident resonated with the Myerses and pleaded with them to contain the dogs moving forward.

"I hope you take this to heart, the seriousness of the situation," she said. "I pray to God that I'm not making the wrong decision and your dogs attack somebody else. Then I won't be sleeping at night."