Pit Bull Owner Emerald White’s Dogs Killed A Beagle, Now She’s Suing The Victim

Emerald White is the owner of four pit bulls. In October, the dogs got loose and found their way into the yard of Steve Baker. The Bakers owned a beagle named Bailey, who was 10 years old at the time.

Bailey never stood a chance when Emerald’s dogs attacked, but now in an unusual twist, she is suing Baker for up to $1 million in damages, according to court documents.

The Galveston County Daily News reports that Emerald White claims “she was ‘seriously injured’ after she was ‘unexpectedly and viciously attacked’ when she entered the Baker’s backyard to retrieve her dogs, which had entered through a hole in the mutual fence separating the two properties.”

The court documents added that White suffered “multiple serious bite and scratch-type injuries requiring ongoing medical treatment” while alleging that she felt “conscious pain and suffering and now suffers also from fear anxiety and trepidation” as a result of the “unprovoked attack.”

She also alleges that the Bakers “failed to confine and restrict Bailey in a secure enclosure,” though by the Daily News account, Bailey was killed on her owners’ property, and the injuries that Emerald White sustained were presumably from her own dogs which had unlawfully entered the property.

Baker described his dog Bailey as a “loyal companion” to the family and had been around his two daughters since they were newborns. Baker said that “not long before the incident,” he had been working to replace the fence in order to improve the safety and security of his family.

As a result of the deadly attack on Bailey, White’s pit bulls have been declared “dangerous” dogs by Texas City authorities, requiring her to “obtain a secure enclosure that is at least 6 feet high with a mechanical locking device.”

The dogs must be registered on an annual basis with the city, and Emerald White must carry a minimum of $100,000 in liability protection on the dogs.

White’s attorneys have not issued a statement, nor has she spoken to the press and that’s not doing much to swing public opinion in her favor.

Yahoo! commenters were outraged by the lawsuit.

“That neighbor woman is a dispicable piece of garbage,” wrote one commenter.

“Mr. Barker, countersue the woman and ask for punitive damages. Her lawsuit has no merit and is based in malice and greed. She claims that you did not take adequate precautions to confine Bailey. Clearly you did take adequate precautions because your geriatric docile small dog did, in fact, remain within your fenced in yard.”

There were another 3,234 comments echoing similar sentiments at the time of this post.

What do you think about the Emerald White lawsuit, readers? Does it have any merit? Sound off in our comments section.