Orange County’s animal shelter is facing a negligence lawsuit that claims a former volunteer was attacked by a dog and bitten 18 times across her body as her screams for help went unanswered.
County representatives deny all allegations in a responding court filing, claiming the volunteer understood the risks and any injuries she suffered were the result of her own actions.
Emily Moncur was volunteering at OC Animal Care on Aug. 21, 2023, when she retrieved a dog named Blaze from his kennel, according to court filings.
According to the lawsuit, when Moncur returned Blaze to his kennel, the dog violently attacked her as she tried to leave, biting her at least 18 times across her arms, legs, buttocks and neck.
“As she was attacked, Plaintiff was pinned to the door of the kennel and was unable to release herself from the dog’s grip or slip through the door,” reads the lawsuit filed in Orange County Superior Court in August and amended in October.
A representative for OC Animal Care declined to provide a statement for this story because they do not comment on pending litigation.
Moncur is asking for a jury trial in addition to payment for general damages, medical expenses, loss of earnings and more. Court filings don’t specify an exact amount but say it exceeds $25,000.
A case management conference for the case is scheduled for Jan. 20.
The suit also claims that the attack was made worse by the shelter staff’s “unreasonable response time” during the emergency, causing Moncur’s “severe and permanent injuries.”
Moncur is suing the county-run shelter for negligence, claiming they unlawfully allowed her to handle a dangerous animal alone in a position without sufficient training or assistance in the case of an attack.
The suit claims that shelter employees and volunteers were not “provided any training or instruction with respect to: (1) what to do in the event of a dog attack where the dog latches on the arm of an employee where an employee is facing the situation alone; (2) what to do in the event a dog attacks another volunteer or employee; or (3) how to prevent a dog attack from occurring when returning a dog the kennel.”
It continues, claiming shelter leaders “negligently failed to implement any safety precautions, procedures, and/or policies to alert other agents, employees, servants, and/or volunteers that any person was being attacked by a dog.”
Moncur’s complaint further alleges that the shelter failed to inform volunteers that Blaze had a history as an aggressive dog and was part of a cruelty case.
In a response to Moncur’s complaint filed in court, county representatives claim that employees acted in good faith and that any of Moncur’s injuries were her own fault.
“Any injury or damage suffered by Plaintiff was caused solely by reason of Plaintiff’s own wrongful acts and conduct and not by reason of any unlawful act or omission of this Defendant,” reads a response from the county filed in early December.
“Plaintiff willingly, voluntarily, and knowingly assumed each, every, and all the risks and hazards involved in the activities referred to in the operative Complaint,” it continued. “The Answering Defendant is not liable for injury or damages, if any there were, because Plaintiff was aware of the dangers and risks with respect to the alleged actions, and did knowingly, and voluntarily, and freely assume and expose themselves to said known risks.”
Moncur also claims the shelter was understaffed and other staff members who were present during the attack were able to use noise-cancelling devices, preventing them from hearing Moncur’s screams for help as the dog repeatedly latched onto her arms, legs and other body parts.
The lawsuit states that her screams provoked the dog further, causing additional bites and injuries as her calls for help went unanswered.
“Extensive damage occurred to the structures within Plaintiff’s body parts after the initial bite and during the course of the ensuing struggle over the next 17 bites,” reads the suit. “Plaintiff alleges that had she merely been bitten once and had emergency aid arrived in a reasonable time to remove BLAZE, her damage would have been limited to a relatively minor flesh wound.”
Angelina Hicks is the Voice of OC Collegiate News Service Editor. Contact her at ahicks@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @angelinahicks13.