Finn Asks Review of Animal-Control Laws : L.A. Honors Man for Saving 3 From Dog

The Los Angeles City Council on Friday commended the heroic actions of a Sylmar drain-cleaning serviceman who helped rescue two children and their grandmother from a vicious dog last month, an incident that also prompted a motion to review the city’s animal-control laws.

Councilman Howard Finn read the council’s commendation of the serviceman, Fred Duran, 30, for his “compassionate, selfless action that undoubtedly saved the lives of two small children.”

Finn proposed that the Department of Animal Regulation and the city attorney’s office examine animal-control requirements and penalties to re-evaluate “the special case of dogs which are particularly prone to attack humans and are not adequately controlled by their owners.”

He asked that the city staff consider, among other things, “special registration of specific breeds.”

“All I’m asking is, where there are certain dogs bred for vicious tendencies, there be better control and they be isolated from the community,” Finn said.

Duran was credited with rescuing the people from a Staffordshire terrier on Oct. 30 while on a service call for Roto-Rooter in Sylmar. He said the “pit bull” type dog attacked a boy, 2, and a girl, 3, while their grandmother tried to fight off the animal. Duran leaped from his service van, sprayed the dog with Mace and pulled the victims into his van.

The girl underwent facial surgery to repair nerve damage and was hospitalized until early last week, according to an aunt of the children, who have not been identified. The boy received 28 stitches on his head and neck and was released from a hospital a few days after the attack, the aunt said.

Duran has received other praise, too. After the council presentation, Duran went home to find a letter informing him that he will receive a commendation for his heroic deed from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Nov. 26.

Duran also received a $200 bonus in his last paycheck and a Roto-Rooter emblem watch from his company.

“It’s a little funny,” Duran said. “I didn’t think people would go this far.”

Duran said that he has kept in touch with the children’s family, which also lives in Sylmar, but that he does not want to intrude on their privacy too much. “They’ve gone through a lot,” he said.

The dog was destroyed Thursday night at the owner’s request, according to Lt. Robert Pena of the city Department of Animal Regulation. Although a 10-day quarantine showed the dog to be healthy, and it did not have a history of attacking people, the owner had him destroyed because of the incident, Pena said.

Finn’s motion calling for a re-evaluation of animal-control regulations noted that some breeds, such as pit bulls, are “instinctive hunters” and that other dogs have been “trained to attack or simply mistreated to a degree that they will turn on any nearby person.”

He asked that city staff consider, besides registration of some breeds, requirements that owners of potentially dangerous dogs “ensure that the animals do not leave a carefully controlled area without restrictions that ensure public safety” and that those areas have warning signs.