FIERCE DOGS COULD FEEL BITE OF BAN.

Byline: CHARLES F. BOSTWICK Staff Writer

PALMDALE -- Two encounters with lunging pit bulls and their owners in a Palmdale park put Dee Dee Wilson Barton on a mission.

Walking one morning three weeks ago in Pelona Vista Park, which on most mornings is filled with people exercising and mothers pushing strollers, Barton was confronted by a pit bull that lunged at her despite its owner hanging on its leash.

``The pit bull was on a leash, but the guy couldn't control it,'' said Barton. ``It happened the next week with a different dog.''

The second man, she added, apparently gave his dog an unusual, and unprintable, name.

Wilson wants the city to ban aggressive dogs from parks, even if leashed, and to put up signs warning dog owners of that and giving telephone numbers for citizens to report problem dogs.

Wilson got a hearing Tuesday from Palmdale City Council members and Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, who met for a breakfast session in Palmdale.

They seemed receptive to her plea.

``We can look at it at a local level to see what we can do to be more proactive,'' Mayor Jim Ledford said.

Antonovich aide Norm Hickling said six additional animal control officers for the Antelope Valley were added in July to the county budget, and they are in training and expected to start work soon.

``I think you're going to see some great improvements,'' Hickling said.