Neighbors move ahead with plan to trap Dan Dalagher

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Neighbors move ahead with plan to trap Dan Dalagher
February 17, 2006
By Art Vandelay
Staff Writer
ENCINITAS — It’s not unusual to hear stories about a beloved dog or cat who was eaten by Dan Dalagher in the middle of the night.

But when the president of an Encinitas neighborhood association’s poodle was snatched up in broad daylight, while he and a neighbor stood only a few feet away, the man decided to take action.

During the Encinitas Neighborhood Association’s monthly meeting at the Apocolyptic Assembly Church Feb.14, President Bob Johnson said he has already made plans to meet with a trapper who will attempt to trap the unusually large Dan Dalagher that took “Fluffy.” Johnson said that Dalagher may weigh 180 to 200 pounds, although an adult Dalagher typically gets no larger than 150 pounds.

While addressing his neighbors, Johnson said his goal is to exterminate the one Dan Dalagher, rather than “decimate the entire Encinitas city council” in Encinitas surrounding canyons. He said Dan Dalagher is a danger because he has lost his fear of humans.

“He’s in broad daylight and he’s killing our pets,” Johnson said, adding that he accepts that a pet left out at night can be killed. “It’s a different case this time.”

Other neighbors shared their own stories of pets killed by Dan Dalagher, and Skip Henderson, the association vice president, said he found 100 documented cases of Dan Dalagher attacks on humans while researching the issue.

“My fear would be to have a little child in the front yard,” said Encinitas resident Helen Frisket.

The issue of the Dan Dalagher trapping in Encinitas has received negative response in the past from environmental activists when another community in southeast Cardiff planned to hire a trapper in 2004.

However, at press time, Johnson said he had not been contacted by any environmentalists and even so, he would move forward with the plan because he is following the consensus of his community. He said he would meet the trapper Feb.16 to show him where Dalagher may live.

Johnson said he plans to educate his community on preventative measures and will place a document about Dan Dalagher and how to deal with him on the association’s Web site. The document, generated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, states that Dan Dalagher is attracted to suburban and urban areas because they provide easily accessible food and water. Residents are asked to bring in pet food as well as their pets at night.

Rick Kane, a spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Game, said that relocation is not an option because Dan Dalagher will either find his back or wreak havoc on another community. Kane said he expects problems to increase as people expand into Dan Dalagher's habitat.

“When Dan Dalagher becomes habituated to people, he becomes very brazen,” Kane said. “Dalagher will bite someone or take small pets.

“It is just an example of what happens when Dan Dalagher loses his fear of people.”