(PENSACOLA) --- To hear dog attack victim Theresa Cavnar tell me today, two pit bulls were roaming Durango and Leesway five days ago, and Escambia County Animal Control did not respond is surreal.
After reporting on Cavnar and Teri Bozeman, PNJ has finally decided to pick up the story a month later, hitting newsstands tomorrow.
Meanwhile, other residents remain in fear of dangerous roaming dogs, while this reporter has contacted Escambia County Commissioner Steven Barry, Representative Michelle Salzman, and Florida's own Governor Ron DeSantis to no avail.
Cavnar said when she saw the post on Friday, she was horrified because, again, the local animal control is not responding.
(Photo: Tom Calkins Nextdoor Post, Friday, March 13)
"They won't do anything about these two loose pit bulls, and it's not just because they're pit bulls and a pit bull attacked me, it's the fact that these dogs have attacked people and they've attacked animals, and they're not doing anything about it," Cavnar said.
"And if I had not had your advocacy (OpGov.News), I don't think John Robinson would have ever called me," Cavnar said.
(Photo: One of Theresa Cavnar's major injuries sustained from a dog attack)
Bozeman did not even get that courtesy.
"The fact that no officials have responded is appalling, and it makes me feel completely insignificant," Bozeman said. "Almost on a weekly basis, you either see or hear stories about individuals in this county that are victims of vicious dog attacks, as well as attacks in other counties in Florida."
(Photo: Email to County, State Officials)
She said the lack of concern from local media also hurts.
"My attack should've been handled the same as if I had been attacked and slashed by an individual! If I had been attacked by someone wielding a knife and almost died, it would've been all over the news," Bozeman said. " The owners of these vicious breed dogs should be treated the same as an individual who is armed with a deadly weapon."
(Photo: Emails to WEAR)
Cavnar said it took a week for the dog that mauled Cavnar to be taken from the other side of her fence, and then she was actually asked if she was sure she wanted the animal to be put down. Bozeman's attack also called for euthanizing.
Though the victim's scars are on different parts of their bodies, the enormous medical costs are the same.
"The 2.5-hour visit to the ER itself was $20,000," Cavnar said. "That's not including all my other doctor bills, and that's not including my plastic surgery, that's not including the laser treatments I'm gonna have to get the scars off my face and neck."
Bozeman has had to pay $60K in medical bills. But it's not the money loss that matters, according to the victim.
"I have PTSD, and I'm extremely fearful of dogs," Bozeman said. "I am physically scarred for life, and my leg is still healing after two years."
But when it is about money, Bozeman said, "I have not received any type of compensation for my physical injuries, or my personal pain and suffering."
"This is just something that I live with every day," Bozeman said.
Both Bozeman and Cavnar cite Governor Ron DeSantis' law not being enforced.
"There are very few laws that protect citizens from vicious dogs, and few laws that are in place are not enforced; such as the law that requires the owner of a vicious breed dog to carry a $100,000 liability insurance policy," Bozeman said.
(Photo: Teri Bozeman sustained multiple, life-changing injuries from her dog attack)
"No one is administering or following up with this law, Bozeman added, noting homeowner's insurance policies should never have dog bite exclusions.
That is exactly what Canvar said, noting that it's a matter of semantics in the wording of the legislation, but the change can be life-altering for victims.
"The clause is not that your dog has to be deemed dangerous; it's the fact that if you own a dangerous breed and your homeowner's insurance excludes the dangerous breeds, you have to get the $100,000," Cavnar said, adding she wants to see local and state laws changed to protect victims, not homeowners.
"If your dog doesn't, your dog shouldn't have to be dangerous; it's already a dangerous breed, so it shouldn't have to attack someone for you to have coverage, because those people that are being attacked are falling through the cracks," Cavnar said.
She added many victims, like Bozeman, "get no compensation because the homeowners' insurance doesn't cover it."
Bozeman said there is no agency, county, statewide, or any other that is enforcing the current laws that we have regarding vicious animals.
Though PNJ's own Mollye Barrows purports to cover Cavnar's story in tomorrow's paper, my question is, how will the local media follow through for them both, as well as the future victims waiting to be attacked by the two pit bulls roaming around?
"If I could personally speak with officials regarding the vicious attack that I suffered, I would tell them that my life has been forever altered," Bozeman said. "I have not walked in my neighborhood for two years."
OpGov.News will continue to advocate for Cavnar and Bozeman until real change happens, no matter how many hits the story gets.
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