City Investigating Latest Attack by Palisades Mastiff

The infamously violent Boerboel mastiff, El Jefe, of upper Chautauqua attacked another person on June 4. Now Councilmember Mike Bonin’s office is working with the city attorney’s office and Los Angeles Animal Services to determine how the dog remained in Pacific Palisades after prior orders were made to have it removed.

The recent attack on an air-conditioning maintenance worker brings the total number of attacks by the Boerboel mastiff to at least six in the last two years, according to another El Jefe bite victim Winston Salser.

“It’s been extremely frustrating dealing with the city,” Salser told the Post. “They’ve violated their own rules multiple times and have been really ineffective, and I’m feeling really depressed.”

At the June 12 Pacific Palisades Community Council meeting, it was announced a search warrant was posted at 1424 Chautauqua Blvd. to evict El Jefe, owned by Lindsey Scully. Within a week the warrant was taken down.

Salser, who lives across from Scully and has a neighbor who’s acquainted with the two workers, said the June 4 incident entailed two workers trying to install a new air conditioner at Scully’s house.

According to Salser, a dog later claimed to be El Jefe flew out of nowhere and immediately started attacking one of the workers. The other worker got a heavy object and attempted to beat the dog off his colleague, but it had no effect. The skin of the victim’s hand was reportedly completely torn off.

“These dogs are trained to not be distracted when attacking,” he said. “They’re afraid if the second guy wasn’t there, the first guy would have been killed.”

In February 2013, commissioners with the Department of Animal Services upheld a previous motion to prohibit Scully from owning the dog for three years. During the initial hearings in 2012, Scully attempted countering with an animal behaviorist who claimed El Jefe was not violent.

“She’s a flagrant liar,” Salser said.

David Graham-Caso, spokesman for Councilmember Bonin, said in an e-mail they are taking the situation “very, very seriously.”

Brenda Barnette, general manager for L.A. Animal Services, told the Post via e-mail that there’s an open investigation to determine if Scully’s original terms and conditions have been violated. Barnette declined to comment further.