LOCAL BEAT: St. Ignace

Having left town for the holidays, I only became aware of this incident by arriving early at a Jan. 2 meeting of county commissioners and overhearing one of the commissioners mention it. At the office, the editor said they had heard about it and that it was sad.

Dog bites woman through vehicle window

The Wild Blueberry Breakfast and Bakery is a popular morning meetup location for many locals.

Dawn Nelson, 81, formerly chair of the Mackinac County Board of Commissioners as well as county assessor, was seriously injured by a dog in the parking lot of the Wild Blueberry Breakfast and Bakery on the morning of Dec. 24.

Nelson (photo courtesy St. Ignace Police) [removed per request of family member]

Nelson sustained injuries to her hand and face, including partial loss of her nose, when she approached the side of her son’s vehicle and was attacked through an open window by Heff, a 6-year-old, male, pit bull mix. Nicholas Nelson, 38, reported to police that his father had pet the dog through the window only moments prior.

Nelson later reported to police that she had approached the vehicle while her husband was petting Heff and put her hand inside through an open window to bid her son farewell. That was when the dog attacked.

Her son was caring after Heff for Nelson’s neighbor and Heff’s human, James Soblaskey, 56, who was in Florida at the time of the incident. Ten days before the attack at the bakery, police were called to Nicholas Nelson’s residence on Paro Street for a report of “what sounded like a man being attacked by a dog.”

He would tell police that he was breaking up a fight between Heff and his own dog. Following the incident in the parking lot Dec. 24, he told police he wanted the animal to be euthanized.

Mackinac County Animal Shelter

The responding officer told Nicholas Nelson to transport Heff to the county animal shelter, where the dog was checked in for a ten day hold. As of Feb. 14, Heff remained lodged at the shelter. Workers said he had not exhibited aggressive behavior since being checked in.

They said Soblaskey has declined to reclaim the animal and that police had found nothing criminal about the incident at the bakery given the circumstances. Mackinac County Animal Shelter is a no-kill facility, although administrator Donna DesJardins said the term is something of a misnomer. A shelter can call itself “no-kill” if it maintains a 90% or higher conversion rate for animals taken in to animals adopted. This allows shelters to accept and appropriately handle terminally ill and dangerously aggressive animals.

Heff perks his ears on Valentine's Day at Mackinac County Animal Shelter. Immediately after this photo was taken, a shelter worker put his fingers through the chainlink fence and Heff nuzzled them affectionately.

Heff’s fate remains in limbo as no one has adopted him but grounds for euthanasia have not been established. Shelter workers said if someone adopts him, his past behavior will be disclosed and liability waivers may be involved.