Special Magistrate declares two dogs dangerous after Mayhill Street attack

The City of Deltona Special Magistrate on March 26, 2025 declared two dogs — Super and Spooky — ‘‘dangerous’’ after a Feb. 17, 2025 attack at 1753 Mayhill Street that killed a neighbor’s dog, Snoopy.

The magistrate made the finding after hearing testimony from Yvette Lamar, an animal control officer for the City of Deltona, who described responding to the scene about 11 a.m. on Feb. 17 and finding a dog that had been ‘‘laid lifeless on the ground’’ and two pit bulls that attacked the smaller dog. Lamar said officers had to use catch poles and additional assistance to secure the animals and that they were transported to Halifax Humane Society, where they remained aggressive on arrival.

Brenda Rendich, who identified herself as the owner of the dog killed in the attack, told the magistrate she let her dogs into the backyard and then noticed one of her dogs was missing. "I had called them to come in… and when I looked up, I saw one of the pit bulls… and then I had saw my dog laying behind the trampoline, lifeless," Rendich testified.

Owners Elliot Omar Paez Cadone and Liz Johanna Colon Cruz (both present) disputed some details, said they had taken steps to contain the animals and blamed a failure of the boundary fence. They and family members said the dogs had dug under or otherwise passed through the fence. The magistrate recorded testimony from neighbors and family members about repeated prior problems and differing accounts of how the dogs entered the injured dog’s yard.

The magistrate noted that the City of Deltona ordinance defines a ‘‘dangerous dog’’ to include a dog that has killed a domestic animal and said the city ordinance language differs from the state statute. The magistrate concluded the testimony supported finding that a domestic animal was killed during the incident and that the definition in the local ordinance required declaring the dogs dangerous. The magistrate said she would prepare a written order to that effect and outlined that conditions and next steps would be set by the City’s animal-control officer.

The magistrate directed the owners to contact the animal control officer to learn the conditions that will apply to the declared dangerous dogs. Lamar had told the magistrate she was requesting the city apply the measures listed under Deltona’s dangerous-dog provisions. The magistrate did not list financial penalties at the hearing; the formal order, which will be mailed to the parties, will state specific conditions and compliance requirements.