Emily Moncur had already snapped photos of more than a dozen dogs at OC Animal Care, a shelter in Tustin where she was volunteering, when she came to Blaze, a black-and-white Labrador retriever and beagle mix.
Moncur retrieved Blaze, snapped his photo, and then attempted to return him to his kennel, when he attacked her, according to a lawsuit she filed last year over the August 2023 incident.
Now, Orange County has agreed to pay Moncur $450,000 to settle the lawsuit that alleges negligence at the facility.
Moncur sustained at least 18 bites across her body, on her arms, legs, buttocks and neck as she was pinned to the door of the kennel and suffered “severe and permanent injuries,” her suit said.
The lawsuit said the shelter failed to alert Moncur that the dog had a known history of aggression due to the cruelty of previous owners.
The complaint alleged that Moncur’s injuries were greater because volunteers were told to handle dogs and complete tasks alone without prior training; and because of limited staffing no one was in the nearby vicinity who could respond to an emergency.
Employees at the facility did not hear her screaming during her struggle with the dog because they were encouraged to wear earplugs at work, according to the complaint.
The county had previously pushed back against Moncur’s allegations, writing in a December court filingthat all shelter employees acted properly and that any of Moncur’s injuries were as a result of her own “wrongful acts.”
“Plaintiff willingly, voluntarily, and knowingly assumed each, every, and all the risks and hazards involved in the activities referred to,” the filing said.
But during a March 10 closed-door session, the Orange County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the proposed settlement of $450,000, according to published meeting minutes. Notice of settlement papers were filed in mid-April with Orange County Superior Court.
Moncur told the Orange County Register that she suffers from nerve damage as well as visible scars.
“The dog that attacked me was part of a cruelty case where he was severely abused by his owner and her family, which was not disclosed to volunteers,” Moncur said in a statement to the news outlet. “He was fast tracked for adoption, exposing not only volunteers but also the public to this dangerous dog by featuring him at an adoption event two days prior to him attacking me.”
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