Dog tie-up law doesn't seem to be working in T.O.

Ginger Something must be done about large mean dogs running loose in Thousand Oaks and attacking small pets and biting people, said dog owner Talin Chen after her small, leashed dog was attacked on June 1.

The biggest German shepherd Eric Brown ever saw was holding what Brown thought for a moment was a small rag in its mouth. Brown was coaching children playing soccer at Evenstar Park when the giant dog caught his eye. Soon after, he realized the "beautiful, massive dog" was holding an ittybitty Pomeranian in its teeth.

"He was using that little dog as a chew toy," Brown said.

The 8-pound dog belonging to Chen is named Ginger. Chen walks 9-year-old Ginger three times a day every day, she said. She's never had a problem until that day, when the huge dog, running free, came out of nowhere and picked Ginger up with its mouth. Then a young boy and a short woman came and put the big dog on a leash, she said.

"When the boy and the gal came up, the German shepherd spit the little dog out," Brown said. "It was strange. It looked surreal. Then the gal with the little dog walked calmly away with the little dog crying as (it) walked."

Brown later learned the reason Chen remained calm was she was in shock, he said.

"I freaked out. I thought the dog was going to swallow my dog and then I would be swallowed. It was so aggressive," Chen, 57, said.

No one knows where the big dog went after it was taken away.

Ginger went to the animal hospital, where she received about $500 worth of medical treatment for bite wounds. Since the attack her personality has changed, Chen said. She's fearful and hides instead of being outgoing like before.

"I feel lucky to be alive," Chen said.

"I'm a lover of dogs," Brown said. "I believe people should take care of their dogs and not let them hurt other dogs."

He also expressed concern for the safety of children playing outside when such an event occurs.

In May, 60-year-old Cheri Lee was allegedly attacked by a pit bull named Blue while she was walking her 8-pound Shih Tzu, Rosie, on the greenbelt near her home. When Lee held Rosie in her arms to protect her from the larger dog, Blue took a chunk of flesh out of Lee's arm, leaving her in pain and needing skin grafts and plastic surgery.

Eventually, animal control took over custody of the licensed and neutered dog and put him in the Agoura Animal Shelter- in one of the outside kennels. Blue was at the end of a row of kennels where people, often with small children, walk up and down looking for a pet to adopt.

While Blue was in animal control custody, and the day before he was to be put down, someone allegedly broke into the shelter in the middle of the night and used bolt cutters to release the dog.

Later that day he was running the streets again. He went in the front door of someone's Thousand Oaks home and killed their family's cat, chased someone else's pet cat, attacked a small dog in the neighborhood and bit three people.

After Blue was captured he was immediately put down, said Michelle Roache, deputy director of Los Angeles Animal Care and Control.

Charges have been filed against the dog's owner, Peter Ebert, for allegedly allowing the dog to run out of control or be at large, said Patrick Hehir, assistant city attorney. Another charge alleges that a second dog owned by Ebert was also at large.

The misdemeanor carries up to a $1,000 fine and/or six months in jail, Hehir said.