Susan Brazen, 45, of Quakertown. (Credit: Quakertown Police)
The defendant, police allege, has refused to turn over proof of vaccinations.
A Quakertown woman, whose Husky/German shepherd mix is accused of killing another dog, has been charged with offenses related to a dog bite incident last month.
Susan Marie Brazen, 45, of the West Broad Street, was charged via summons Dec. 2 by Quakertown Police with misdemeanor failure to keep a dog confined within premises and summary charges of owning or harboring a dangerous dog with a history of attacking without provocation and failure to provide police with proof of rabies vaccination, per court records.
On Nov. 21, at 8:40 p.m., police responded West Broad Street for a report of a dog bite victim, according to the affidavit. The victim told police that the bite happened the night before, when she was outside the rear of the home, smoking a cigarette, police said. Brazen was also outside on her second-floor porch area, per the complaint. The victim asked to borrow Brazen’s lighter, and Brazen allegedly invited the victim up the rear exterior stairs to her apartment to retrieve it, police said.
Brazen went inside to get a lighter, and when she opened the door to hand it over, one of her dogs allegedly came to the door, jumped over another dog, and bit the victim on the right abdomen, grabbing the shirt and not letting go, police said.
After she was bit, the victim pulled away from the dog, while Brazen also pulled back on the dog, and the victim ended up failing down the entire flight of exterior stairs, police said.
The victim suffered puncture marks, scratches and bruising due to the bite, police allege, and her shirt had two holes in it.
Police said there was no provocation from the victim. Brazen allegedly apologized and brought the dog back inside, but did not follow up and check on the victim.
The victim was taken to St. Luke’s Upper Bucks for treatment of the dog bite, police said, where the wound was cleaned and she was prescribed antibiotics, per the affidavit. The victim asked Brazen for vaccination records for the dog, but she never provided them, police said.
Police contacted Brazen, who told police she was not home, according to the complaint. Brazen was advised of the charges and vaccination records were requested, police said. She told police she would be home later and would provide the requested records, but failed to do so, police allege.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 23 at 12:30 p.m. before Magisterial District Judge Lisa J. Gaier.
Three weeks prior, on Nov. 3, Quakertown Police arrested Brazen on an outstanding warrant out of the Bucks County Sheriff’s Office for failure to appear at a county Common Pleas Court hearing for violations of the county’s Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program, per court records.
On that date, police were dispatched to her home for a separate animal complaint, in which Brazen’s dog attacked and killed a neighbor’s dog, police said. Brazen was charged Nov. 3 with misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest and unlawful confinement and control of a dog, as well as harboring a dog that has the propensity to attack without provocation, police said.
She was released on $15,000 unsecured bail and faced a preliminary hearing Friday before Magisterial District Judge Lisa Gaier.
The Bucks County Common Pleas ARD case involved six DUI charges brought against Brazen by Pennsylvania State Police on Nov. 18, 2022, stemming from a July 3, 2022 incident in Sellersville Borough, according to court records. A pre-trial conference is set for Jan. 28.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
