Hopewell solicitor has run-in with Bridgeton pit bull

[Tonka]

http://www.nj.com/news/bridgeton/local/ ... ml&coll=10

Hopewell township solicitor T. Henry Ritter wanted to call attention to a contradiction to information that he provided the township committee previously.

It wasn't a complaint, per se. He just wanted it on the record.



It seems Ritter had a run in with a pit bull last Saturday -- in Bridgeton.

The incident comes on the heels of a similar one in Hopewell where two dogs were running in traffic in August.

A West Park Drive resident caged them, but questioned weekend policies.

So Hopewell checked out Bridgeton's weekend policy, curious as to how Animal Control Officer Billy Knipe handles the weekends.

They found out that the weekend policy is that Knipe is on call 24-7, and he responds if there is a "serious" call.

Define serious.

He was jogging in a section of Bridgeton City Park with a friend and encountered the dog on West Park Drive, not too far from the Hopewell border.

The pit bull, when Ritter first spotted it, was running in the street.

But to get where he was going, he'd have to deal with the dog, not knowing if it was friendly or not.

"I had to run by where this dog was," he said. "This dog was running in and out of traffic. Luckily, it didn't bite."

The pit bull did jump up on Ritter, however.

He noted he was really concerned about it before he found out the dog was friendly.

And he was concerned that the dog might get hit or cause an accident.

The dog followed Ritter as he walked from West Avenue to Commerce Street.

Along the way, the pit bull was running up to cars in the street.

After finally eluding the dog, he called 911 at Freitag Funeral Home.

"(The dog) was distracted at the funeral home," Ritter said. "I was able to slip away."

The 911 call center couldn't help -- it wasn't an emergency.

Ritter said he also called the Bridgeton Police Department, and they told him there wasn't anything they could do.

"They told me to capture the dog," Ritter said, which by then was irrelevant, since the dog had disappeared

[Marinepits]

The pit bull did jump up on Ritter, however.

He noted he was really concerned about it before he found out the dog was friendly.

And he was concerned that the dog might get hit or cause an accident.

The dog followed Ritter as he walked from West Avenue to Commerce Street.

Along the way, the pit bull was running up to cars in the street.

After finally eluding the dog, he called 911 at Freitag Funeral Home.

"(The dog) was distracted at the funeral home," Ritter said. "I was able to slip away."

Okay, maybe it's just me, but if he was so concerned about the dog getting hurt why did he "elude" the dog and leave the dog chasing traffic?

[SisMorphine]

The pit bull did jump up on Ritter, however.

He noted he was really concerned about it before he found out the dog was friendly.

And he was concerned that the dog might get hit or cause an accident.

The dog followed Ritter as he walked from West Avenue to Commerce Street.

Along the way, the pit bull was running up to cars in the street.

After finally eluding the dog, he called 911 at Freitag Funeral Home.

"(The dog) was distracted at the funeral home," Ritter said. "I was able to slip away."

Okay, maybe it's just me, but if he was so concerned about the dog getting hurt why did he "elude" the dog and leave the dog chasing traffic?

I was wondering the same thing. If it was so happy to be following him while he jogged, why didn't he jog home with it and leash it, or jog some place it would continue to follow where he could get a leash for it. Rediculous.