By JEFFERSON WEAVER
Staff Writer

Complaints about dogs near Edgewood School brought residents from both sides of the issue to Whiteville’s City Council Tuesday.

Jennie Greco told the council in January that dogs owned by Teila and Jessica Gore on Thompson Street were frightening children, teachers and passersby. The Gore sisters’ backyard abuts Edgewood property, and they have a number of dogs in a pen behind their home. Greco presented the council with a petition asking that something be done about the animals, which include a large pit bull named Omega.

The Gores said they had never met Greco, or had any contact with her. Greco said she had attempted to get in touch with the women, but admitted she never met them before making her complaint to the city.

The women said they first learned of Greco’s complaints when Police Chief Jerry Britt visited them after the January meeting where Greco voiced her concerns. Britt told the council he gave the sisters a copy of the town’s code regarding animals, and noted he found no violations.

The sisters appeared before the council Tuesday to defend their animals, and deny claims the dogs are neglected. Both women sent letters to the council, and offered to answer any questions from the board. Mayor Dial Gray thanked them, but board members had no comment.

Jessica Gore told the board that her pit bull, Omega, was never aggressive, and she felt Omega was a victim of “pedigree profiling.”

“There are plenty of people who raise their pit bulls to be vicious,” she said, “but Omega was not raised that way. She was brought up to be gentle, and she is.”

The dog snapped three chains before Jessica found one large enough to hold Omega.

“Pits are escape artists,” she said. “She stays chained for her protection more than anything else. I don’t want her getting in the street and frightening anyone or getting hit by a car.”

She said that since stories about the dogs were published in this newspaper, “we have had numerous people riding past our house at all hours of the night looking to see the ‘vicious’ dogs.

“I never know if it’s because of the story,” she said, “or if someone is trying to steal Omega.”

The sisters, who are natives of Whiteville, said they were “embarrassed” by Greco’s accusations. While some of the dogs lacked rabies vaccinations when the complaints were made to the town, all are now up to date, according to Loretta Gore Davis, the sisters’ mother.

“Teila thought they had to be a year old before they got their rabies shots,” Davis said, “but that’s been taken care of.”

Teila Gore told the council in her letter that “I have seen the children barking and jumping at the fence,” and that she finds “tests and homework sheets” in the yard where they were apparently thrown by children. Students also run their fingers down the fence teasing the dogs, she said.

“If the parents or teachers allow the behavior,” the letter stated, “my animals are going to bark like anyone else’s would.”

Both women said they have received no complaints from their neighbors, and pointed out that when police and animal control officer investigated complaints about the animals, their investigations turned up nothing. The Gores and their mother said they felt they were being unfairly singled out.

“There are a lot of people with pit bulls in this town,” Davis said. “Why single out my daughters, and not even go to speak to them about it?”

The sisters asked for a “written apology” to themselves and the town from Greco.

Several other speakers at Tuesday’s meeting expressed concern over the Gores’ dogs.

Deborah Smelling, Dorothy Fent and Pat Lambert spoke to the board about the dogs, and animal care issues in general.

Fent is a well-known animal advocate who operates an animal rescue out of her home. She said she understood Jessica Gore’s love for her dog, “but you can’t trust a pit bull.”

“The only reason a dog has to be tethered or in a separate cage is because you can’t trust them,” she said. “I’ve had pits, I’ve rescued pit bulls, and raised them. I won’t trust one.” She also called on the council to enforce the state rabies law, which requires all animals over three months of age to be vaccinated against the disease.

“I know these dogs weren’t vaccinated when this first came up,” she said. “Why isn’t the rabies law being enforced in Whiteville?”

Fent said she had dealt with similar problems with children and passersby at her home, and had installed a privacy fence to screen the sidewalk from the dog’s view.

Smelling told the council she feels threatened whenever she takes her children by the Gores’ residence, and that the dogs “lunged” at the family as they went by.

She also accused this writer and The News Reporter of “tugging at heartstrings” and not telling “the truth” about the Gores’ animals.

Echoing Greco’s comments from last month, Smelling said that “kids will be kids” and worried that a child might be bitten if he or she “stuck their fingers through the fence” at the Gore home.

“Our number one priority should be to protect the children,” Smelling said, noting that she has also been frightened by “charging” dogs in yards equipped with invisible fencing.

“I didn’t know there was anything there to stop them,” she said. “I was getting ready to hit and kick to protect my children.”

Davis told the council that it wasn’t fair that “one family should be singled out when the problem is a community problem.”

“The other side didn’t expect us to speak out,” she said. “My girls and their dogs have been singled out and attacked…because they live by the school. Why is that?”

Davis said Teila Gore hand-raised the puppies, and when she couldn’t find homes, she kept the dogs rather than turning them over to the Columbus County Animal Shelter.

“She didn’t want to see them killed,” Davis said. “She has a big heart, as we all do.”

Pat Lambert of the Columbus County Humane Society said the group was never contacted, but would have helped find homes for the puppies.

“We are here to help find homes for animals,” she said, “so they don’t have to be put down. If we had been contacted, we would have been happy to help.”

Tara Gore – Teila and Jessica’s sister, who lives nearby – said the family had tried to get help from the humane society, but had no response. Davis was associated with the Humane Society when she lived in the home now owned by Teila Gore and her husband, but is no longer a member.

Gray interrupted Tara Gore, reminding the crowd that the council wasn’t discussing “groups or agencies,” but “the City of Whiteville’s leash law.”

“Anyone else that hasn’t been heard on this issue is welcome to speak,” he said, “but we’re here to discuss the situation with only these dogs.”

Tara Gore then told the council she was comfortable allowing her small daughter around Omega and the other animals.

“I have never seen any aggressive behavior from those dogs,” she said.

Greco was at Tuesday’s meeting but did not speak. After the meeting, she accused this reporter of unfairly covering the issue when the Gores were interviewed as part of a companion piece to the story on Greco’s complaint, and said her statements were mischaracterized.