After multiple attacks in Sonoma, court condemns ‘vicious’ pit bulls

Two pit bulls with a long record of documented attacks against people and other dogs in Sonoma have been declared “vicious animals” by a Sonoma County judicial officer, who ordered the dogs be put to death.

The ruling by Judicial Officer Robert Boyd came Wednesday after a four-hour civil court trial.

The dogs, Mac and Maggie, had been in the custody of Sonoma County Animals Services after attacking a man on June 5. They were officially placed with the county following Boyd’s order. Animal Services did not respond by 5 p.m. Monday to inquiries seeking confirmation as to whether the dogs had been destroyed.

Boyd also banned the dogs’ owners, Sierra Drive residents Harmony Bolt and Mia Kniss, from “owning, possessing, controlling or having custody” of any animal for the next three years. The mother and daughter were also ordered to pay $3,000 to the injured man, who required 30 stitches and six hours of surgery following the most recent attack.

The court found Bolt and Kniss failed to secure the dogs after they were deemed “potentially vicious” in 2022, a designation which required the animals be confined to their 2-acre property.

Animal Services issued warnings on March 26, 2022 and April 7, 2023 after the women failed to contain or control the animals, according to court documents.

The court decision follows 11 reports made to Sonoma County Animal Services since 2018 related to Mac and Maggie’s violent and aggressive behavior, which included numerous, unprovoked attacks against people, the death of a neighbor’s dog and an attack on a Chihuahua.

Prior deadly attack on another dog

Public records obtained by the Index-Tribune revealed horrifying details about a July 12, 2020 attack by the same dogs that killed a small dog named Tagg.

According to the Animal Services’ report, Tagg and his owner were returning from a walk when Mac and Maggie began to bark. Tagg barked back, but was immediately called off by his owner.

Tagg then went into his backyard where Mac and Maggie continued to antagonize the smaller dog. Eventually, the pit bulls broke through the fence.

Bolt, who owns Mac, attempted to restrain both pit bulls, stating in an Animal Service report, “I was unable to hold both of my dogs back.”

She continued, “Before I knew it, the little dog was in Mac’s mouth and it was to(o) late. The little dog fell to the ground when myself and the neighbor struggled to get the dogs apart.”

Tagg’s owner heard a yelp from outside, and saw her dog’s head in Mac’s “tight jawlock,” as the larger animal violently shook Tagg, according to the Animal Services records.

“The little dog had stopped moving.... I took my dogs and walked them to the back of the prop(erty),” Bolt recounted.

While holding Tagg’s bloodied, dying body, his owner called Animal Services in distress and asked what she could do.

“I could tell (Tagg’s) neck was broken [stiff and in a fixed upright position] and he was limp. Additionally, one eye was completely ejected while the other was bulging. He had a puncture wound to his neck and another through his head,” Tagg’s owner wrote in a report to Animal Services. “I clearly understood he would not survive these injuries.”

An Animal Services officer confirmed the owner’s fears about Tagg’s fate. But the officer was in Santa Rosa, a 45-minute drive to Sonoma, and suggested Tagg’s owner use a firearm to end the dog’s suffering, according to an agency report. The owner refused and unsuccessfully attempted to contact an emergency vet.

“I continued to sit with him and hold him until he passed away,” the owner stated in an Animal Services report. “Since this event, not a single person has claimed responsibility to me for the behavior of these two dogs.”

In the days after the attack, Animal Services launched an investigation and an officer contacted Bolt and Kniss. Kniss – who was not present for the July 12 incident – told the officer on July 15 she went to the neighboring residence and saw Tagg was still alive.

The officer also contacted Tagg’s owner, her husband and neighbors who said they had previous dangerous experiences with Mac and Maggie. The officer then sought advice from county legal counsel in how to proceed regarding the violent incident. The county attorney’s response was redacted in public records provided to the Index-Tribune.

Additional attacks

Just over a month later on Aug. 18, 2020, another attack occurred on Sierra Drive.

In a report filed with Animal Services on Aug. 20, 2020, a victim stated that Mac bit his right arm and back. However, the victim did not return a sworn statement to Animal Services regarding the incident.

Kniss and Bolt were interviewed again by Animal Services, and stated the victim “was drunk and trespassing on their property. He was abusive and throwning (sic) things at the dog owner when the dog bit him,” according to the report taken on Aug. 21, 2020. The officer labeled it a “provoked bite” that did not meet the standard for a “potentially dangerous dog.”

Still, the Animal Services officer “quarantined” Mac on the property for 10 days.

Almost a year later on Aug. 8, 2021, the manager of Mirabel RV Park reported “two pit bulls” attacked a small Chihuahua on the property. The Chihuahua was taken to VCA Petcare East and received treatment for undisclosed injuries; Kniss paid for the initial exam, according to the report.

The Chihuahua’s owner did not pursue any action against Mac and Maggie or Kniss. And the Animal Services officer stated they were “unable to seize the dog” for a petition to “have it destroyed… At best, I could only have it declared as ‘potentially dangerous.’”

The “dangerous dog” designation was officially filed against Mac and Maggie on Feb. 28, 2022.That designation requires a dog be kept “securely confined on its premises in a locked enclosure” such as a fence.

Bolt was issued warnings on March 26, 2022 and April 7, 2023, after violating those requirements and failing to keep the dogs secure.”

At 11 a.m. on Oct. 6, 2022, the Sonoma Valley Fire Department responded to a man with “puncture wounds” with blood on both arms sitting outside Bolt and Kniss’s residence, according to Sonoma County Sheriff’s Deputy Jesse Hanshew. Forty-five minutes earlier, emergency officials received another call about a possible dog attack.

“During that earlier call (before we arrived), Capt. Morrison and his crew tried to enter the property at 18350 Sierra Drive, but they were refused. In fact, someone told them that everyone was alright there,” the report states.

The man, who was intoxicated and on probation according to the report, told fire personnel he was a friend of Bolt and Kniss and refused to pursue action against them.

A neighbor videotaped the incident, but did not want to submit it to Animal Services out of fear of retaliation from Bolt and Kniss.

Without statements or evidence, the Oct. 6 incident report was closed.

On April 5, 2023, a neighbor contacted Animal Service because Mac and Maggie were allegedly chasing down an Amazon delivery driver.

The driver managed to get away from the dogs, according to the neighbor. But Animal Control services could not pursue any official action on that incident because the victim did not contact authorities.

However, on April 7, Animal Services did contact Bolt, who denied the dogs were let loose from the property, according to an incident report. An Animal Services officer issued a written warning.

The neighbor contacted Animal Services again on April 11 asking about the outcome of the report. Unable to pursue action against the dogs, the officer advised the neighbor to film any future incidents that show the owners were in violation of the “potentially dangerous dogs” ordinance, according to agency records.

“What is it going to take for something more to be done? Does someone need to die?” a witness told the Animal Services investigator, reports show. “Most of the neighbors don't even walk outside anymore, in fear of these dogs.”

Back in 2020, Tagg’s owner highlighted that same fear.

“The quick action of these two dogs amplifies the degree of their deadliness,” Tagg’s owner said a written account included in an incident report. “After witnessing the ability of those dogs to break down a barrier in order to take my dog, I am truly frightened of what they are capable of.”

Contact Chase Hunter at chase.hunter@sonomanews.com and follow @Chase_HunterB on Twitter.