Dayton residents were appalled by the actions of the Montgomery County Commissioners when they refused to fire Montgomery County dog warden Mark Kumpf after the mauling death of Klonda Richey in February of 2014. Ms. Richey had made dozens of complaints about her neighbor's dogs and the response of the Montgomery County Animal Resource Center, headed by Mark Kumpf, was to put sternly worded post-it notes on the front door of the dog owners with absolutely zero follow up. Klonda Richey also went to the courts for protection but was, astonishingly, refused a protection order and never offered the opportunity to file an affidavit on the dogs. Klonda Richey made the statement "those dogs are going to kill me" and she was right. Klonda Richey's violent and bloody death brought international attention to the city of Dayton Ohio.
Photo of the scene of Klonda Richey's death.
Dog warden Kumpf claimed that Ms. Richey's death was a "tragic accident" and despite the public record of Richey's complaints, Montgomery County officials stood behind him.
Fast forward to July of 2014 and Dayton had another fatal dog attack, this time a seven month old baby in Dayton for a family visit. Click here for more information on the mauling death of Jonathan Quarles Jr. This part is important, the Staffordshire Terrier (pit bull) that killed little Jonathan Quarles Jr. ALSO had a record with the Montgomery County Animal Resource Center. This one had menaced a mailman and the USPS reported it. The Montgomery County ARC staff "educated" the owner, yep, that will solve the problem.
Well no, actually it did not solve the problem. That very same pit bull attacked a leashed dog being walked in the neighborhood. The Montgomery County ARC responded with charges BUT the hearing on those charges was postponed, for no apparent reason. Just days after the date of the postponed hearing the pit bull mauled a seven month old baby to death.
Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Kumpf has to stand alone as the only dog warden in history with TWO fatal attacks in a six month period, all dogs involved having prior histories with county animal control and no definitive action taken.
What is the result? Glad you asked. The Montgomery County Commissioners have given Mark Kumpf a RAISE!
In an article titled "Montgomery County dog warden praised after 'difficult year."
From the Dayton Daily News "The head of the Montgomery County Animal Resource Center has received a pay raise based on a good 2014 job evaluation — a move criticized by some residents who say the agency did not do enough to prevent two fatal dog attacks last year.
Mark Kumpf, director of the Animal Resource Center, was given a wage increase of 2.5 percent, from $80,562 a year to $82,576. This decision has angered family members, friends and neighbors of Klonda Richey, who was mauled by two mixed-mastiff dogs in February, 2014, outside her Dayton home.
Mark Kumpf publicity photoKlonda Richey had several "difficult years" ending in her violent death. At only seven months old, Jonathan Quarles never had time for a "difficult year" or the joyous years of a normal childhood.
The family of Klonda Richey has filed a lawsuit against Montgomery County and Mark Kumpf. The Quarles family has the right to do the same. I suspect the liability in the Quarles case would be huge since the county had reason to know that their animal control department was not protecting the safety of the residents of the county.
Don't miss the video with this news story on Kumpf's raise.
Mr. Kumpf is a liability to Montgomery County and to the Ohio Dog Warden's Association as well, Kumpf remains president of that organization. The OCDWA cannot be taken seriously when they retain an internationally disgraced dog warden as their president.
Lets not forget the victims of Kumpf's failure to act.
Klonda Richey
Jonathan Quarles Jr.
Click here for an interesting bit of video of a Dayton woman who got the sternly worded post it notes on her front door. Note that Montgomery County ARC never followed up on the tickets AND they did not even respond to her phone calls.
Click here for more thoughts on Montgomery County.
Kumpf got a RAISE based on a good evaluation "after a difficult year"? What planet do these people come from?
