A 32-year-old Puna woman police say was mauled by a neighbor’s dog Saturday remained in the intensive care unit Tuesday at Hilo Medical Center with substantial injuries.
A GoFundMe page for the victim, Amber Clausen, had raised $3,575 of a $50,000 goal. The page is titled “Help Amber recover from a brutal dog attack.”
The attack left Clausen with both arms broken and multiple puncture wounds and lacerations, police said. Clausen’s 52-year-old mother suffered injuries less severe than her daughter’s, police said.
The fundraising page describes Clausen as “a devoted animal caregiver who selflessly gives her time and energy to animals in need.” It said Clausen has been a volunteer with Hawaii Animal Kuleana Alliance since 2018.
The dog’s owner, 52-year-old Frederick Kassebeer, has been charged with negligent failure to control a dangerous dog, a Class C felony that carries a potential five-year prison term and up to a $10,000 fine, and permitting a dog to stray, a violation which carries only a fine.
Kassebeer, who was released from police custody after posting $2,000 bail, has court dates for June 26 for the stray dog violation and June 29 for the failure to control a dangerous dog charge, according to the police booking log.
Police Capt. Scott Amaral, the Puna Patrol commander, on Tuesday described the incident “an unfortunate set of circumstances.”
According to court records, there have been no previous arrests of Kassebeer or citations issued to him for animal-related offenses.
Police say Kassebeer’s property on Bamboo Drive has a partially fenced yard, and the dog wasn’t secured when the attack occurred.
Police said a neighbor intervened and was able to get the dog off Clausen and secure it to a fence post.
“The Good Samaritan helped out immensely,” Amaral said.
The neighbor put Clausen in the bed of his pickup and drove her to the Pahoa Fire Station, where medics took over and took the woman by ambulance to HMC.
The dog was taken into custody by Animal Control officers, police said. Some unofficial online posters said the dog has been euthanized, but Amaral said there are due process procedures to be followed before that occurs.
Amaral said there was no one home at Kassebeer’s residence Saturday when the incident occurred.
“He ended up coming in the next day. And when he came in to see us, that’s when we arrested him,” Amaral said.
The dangerous dog charge Kassebeer faces came about because of Bill 125, introduced by Puna Councilwoman Ashley Kierkiewicz and passed into law in April 2022.
“I know this is the first time we’ve arrested somebody off of this change to the Hawaii County Code that went into effect last year. The severity was such that we felt the need to do so,” Amaral said.
The county law came about because of an incident in August 2021, when 85-year-old Hawaiian Paradise Park resident Dolores Oskins was mauled by three unrestrained dogs belonging to a neighbor. Oskins, who suffered critical injuries, died at Hilo Medical Center on Sept. 5, 2021, 24 days after the attack.
“I actually went to testify on this after Miss Oskins’ death two years ago,” Amaral said. “And Ashley Kierkiewicz brought this forward … because everybody was upset at the time. Everybody was up in arms because this lady passed away due to a dog attack, and why aren’t the (dog) owners in jail?
“It wasn’t a felony at that point.”
“This just underscores the issue that these animal attacks are happening in the Puna region,” Kierkiewicz added. “Up until that point, there were no criminal penalties, and the other issue we were trying to address was confiscation of the animal at that point in time. Up until that moment, the dog could, essentially, go back home, and folks that were attacked and survived, it was a very traumatic experience for them to have to go back home, knowing that this … dangerous animal was next door, in the vicinity where it could potentially attack again.”
Kierkiewicz indicated a possibility that dog attacks go under-reported.
“Here’s the thing I always tell my constituents: If you don’t report it, there’s nothing that police and prosecutors can do about the situation,” she said. “You know, oftentimes, people are saying, ‘Police and prosecutors, they’ve done nothing.’ Well, did you do the first step, which is report? Because they can’t move forward or do any investigation or hold anybody accountable unless a report has been filed.”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.