On August 9, 2022, Daphne Pierre Bishop walked Brooklyn, our family’s beloved 15-pound Maltese-Havanese, on a leash past 5924 S. Mansfield Ave. After they passed the property, Simba, a 90-pound Rottweiler, emerged from a gate that was allegedly left open by “workers.” Without warning or provocation, Simba silently stalked and then viciously attacked Brooklyn from behind. On the sidewalk, Daphne turned to see her "Puppy Love" (her nickname for Brooklyn), dangling by his fragile, bloodied throat from Simba's clamped jaw. She screamed so loudly that a neighbor tearfully shared that he doubts he will ever unhear her horror.  

(Click through to see Brooklyn and the dog that killed him.)

- Daphne Pierre Bishop and Orlando Bishop 
Residents of Windsor Hills since 2003 and "parents" to Brooklyn Bishop since 2013.

 

We, the undersigned, as concerned pet owners, parents, and community members call on Animal Control to remove Simba, the 90-pound Rottweiler that resides with Carla Crowder, Bruce Lee Crowder Jr., and Chardanay Crowder at 5924 S. Mansfield Ave., from the Windsor Hills community.

Community members, including the Bishop family, call for the removal of this dangerous dog in order to ensure that this incident or a similar one does not happen again. The Crowders have demonstrated irresponsibility in their maintenance and handling of Simba because this incident with Brooklyn is not the first. The Bishops have come to discover through discussion with other neighbors that Simba and the Crowders’ other dog have attacked other dogs and people in the neighboring area. Every time there is an incident, the response from the Crowders is the same: someone accidentally left the gate open and the dog escaped. One time may be an accident; multiple incidents and reiterations of this excuse are intolerable and demonstrate a wanton recklessness of the dogs and their owners.

As a result of the attack on Brooklyn and the newly discovered information, it is clear that Simba is an undeniable threat and danger to pets, children, unsuspecting pedestrians, delivery people, and everyone in the community. Animal Control and the community cannot risk this type of incident happening again. The result of the next attack could be worse and unimaginable.

Simba must be removed by Los Angeles County Animal Control as a matter of public safety. His next victim, instead of the Bishop family's 10 year old beloved Maltese-Havanese, could be another poor family's beloved child. 

Based on Animal Control Officer W. Romero’s conversation with Daphne Bishop, there won't be a hearing for months. Given that Simba's stealth and vicious attack took less than a minute, there is no reason to believe that any pet or person in the vicinity is safe in the interim. 

To ask that the Bishops and the other terrified and terrorized members of this community share their neighborhood with a dangerous dog only adds to the trauma Daphne experienced and deepens the fear that envelopes the Bishop household and many households in the area, concerned for the safety of all of the neighboring households.

The Crowders have shown themselves to be unwilling or, perhaps, unable to take even the most basic precautions to keep the pets, children, and adults of our community safe. The families, parents, the residents, and responsible pet owners of Windsor Hills do not deserve to live in fear, terrorized by this dog, behaving more like a vicious attack dog than a pet, because a backlog of Animal Control cases demands justice be delayed.

 

We call on Animal Control to:

• remove Simba immediately from 5924 S. Mansfield Ave.
• thoroughly investigate previously unreported and reported acts of aggression, whether by Simba or other dogs residing at 5924 S. Mansfield Ave. 
• fully assess the Crowders' ability to appropriately train, care for, and control the dogs entrusted to them. 

 

Sincerely,

Concerned Citizens and Responsible Pet Owners