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May 12, 2008 7:34 pm US/Pacific
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Did O.C. Woman Try To Use Her Dog As A Weapon?
HUNTINGTON BEACH
Did a Huntington Beach woman try to use her dog as a weapon against a mail carrier?
That's what an inquiry is trying to determine.
Renee Focht, speaking from her office in Pasadena, said an inspector launched a probe last week "to find out if there was any criminal intent" on the part of the woman, whose cocker spaniel caused postal carrier Shirley Babashoff to pull her pepper spray.
Babashoff is heard on a 911 call telling the dispatcher that one of her mail customers got very agitated when she asked her to sign a registered letter. She said the woman behind a door, tried to get her dog to attack her.
Babashoff, a former Olympic gold medal swimmer, ran to her truck and then made the 911 call. She reportedly locked herself in her truck until police responded.
Asked her location, Babashoff says, "Hiding in my truck."
It was not immediately clear if she sprayed the dog, but the customer
apparently came out and reacted verbally, prompting Babashoff to run to her truck.
KCAL 9's Dave Lopez reported that the woman, who opened the door to display her black and white cocker spaniel, denied that was what happened. "It wasn't an altercation at all," the woman said. "It was just a misunderstanding."
Pat Johnson called Channel 9 after the report first aired, apologizing and said that Babashoff is "a wonderful woman."
Babashoff, a swimmer, won a total of eight medals in the Olympics in 1972 and 1976, including two gold medals in relays.
Focht said May 18-24 is National Dog Bite Prevention Week. She said
recent statistics pegged the number of dog bites nationally at 4.7 million,
with letter carriers comprising the third-highest number of victims.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)