This letter is in response to the front-page article in the April 25, 2021 edition of the Westside News “Community rallies to support the release of an Ogden dog”. I’m a 15-year resident of the neighborhood where this event took place, and I know both the owner of Vanessa (Jeremy Wolf), and the victim whom Vanessa bit. I attended the court proceedings that dealt with this matter last year, and have followed the events closely. This event was a seminal moment in the history of this neighborhood as it has torn asunder our mutually-held values of cooperation and truthfulness.
There were several inaccuracies in the article which could have easily been identified if the court documents had been reviewed, or if the author simply tried to verify the accuracy of the statements provided to her. The second paragraph of the article states “…nor did he (Mr. Wolf) have any concerns that she (Vanessa) was aggressive or dangerous.” I personally had several instances where I would approach Vanessa and Mr. Wolf when they were out walking. Without exception, Vanessa would immediately go to the limit of her leash and lunge in my direction. This would happen whether I was walking my own dog or not. The court case detailed several instances of another resident of the neighborhood with similar experiences and having to alter his own exercise regimens to accommodate the aggressiveness demonstrated by Vanessa. Another inaccuracy of the article states that Vanessa and Loki (the other dog mentioned that was present at the time of this incident), were being walked by Kerry in Jeremy’s “front yard” and “rolling on the edge of the grass” when a neighbor jogged by. This is false. Town of Ogden court documents and testimony during the trial refute this claim. Kerry was walking both Vanessa and Loki at the same time on the morning this incident took place. They were not in Jeremy’s front yard. Both of the dogs Kerry was walking are very muscular, powerful dogs, and Kerry is fairly petite in stature. The bite took place because Kerry was pulled across the street by two powerful dogs she could not control. The bite victim turned and began running the other way when the dogs came toward her, but they caught up to her (again, read the court documents). We still don’t know Kerry’s account of this event because she never took the stand during the court proceedings. As the only other eyewitness to the event, her testimony could have exonerated Vanessa. We’ll never know; she remains silent to this day on what happened that morning.
Ours is a neighborhood of equal parts young families (9 children 11 years old or less), and retirees. We’re not villains; we just want accountability and we want safety for our families. Our families will not be safe with this dog back in the neighborhood.
