In a handwritten note at the bottom of her typewritten letter, Blackburn added that since she had typed the letter, she and her 4-year-old son were charged again trying to get to their car. Blackburn wrote: "Please do something!"

Police are doing what they can, but they can only do so much.

Where the officers’ get hamstrung are these two key points: police must have absolute proof that the dog is the one misbehaving and only a judge can determine if a dog is to be put down.

"Short of writing tickets and maintaining consistent law enforcement and encouraging dog owners to do the right thing — that’s pretty much it," said Dave Vasconi, community service officer for Marysville police.

Officers can write tickets to dog owners when they haven’t leashed their animals or if the pet has been known to chase or intimidate people. And police encourage dog owners to keep the animals in their own yard.

But Marysville does not have a confinement law, meaning that owners can’t be forced to chain up animals on their property.

If a dog is loose and bites someone, the animal is quarantined for 10 days at a shelter. After that, the dog is returned to the owner or held for evidence. If the dog is returned, the animal is labeled a potentially dangerous dog.

When that label is made, the matter kicks into a higher level. If owners choose to keep potentially dangerous dogs, they must take out a $50,000 insurance policy. The dog also must be contained at all times and, if not, muzzled or leashed. Failure to abide by those rules can mean a fine of $1,000.

Vasconi said it’s difficult for dog owners to get that insurance policy when their animals have been labeled potentially dangerous. In fact, Vasconi has never seen any dog owner get insurance in such cases in his six years in Marysville.

The potentially dangerous label is "like a death sentence on the dog," Vasconi said. "So we don’t hand them out like candy."

In the case of the 67th Avenue NE dogs, the animals’ owner has received four citations, three for violating the leash law and one for chasing and intimidation. At one court appearance, owner James Downey told the judge that one of the offending dogs had been sent out of state.

No one answered the phone at the Downey residence.

Yet, the Browns would dispute that, saying there are still three dogs terrorizing the neighborhood.

The Browns have kept track of the problem since last year and have compiled a thick file complete with copies of Downey’s citations and letters from neighbors. Now, they have stepped up their campaign.

The couple has set up a video camera in the garage to film the offending dogs, hoping to get the absolute proof police need to prove that Downey isn’t complying with the law.

"The owner told the judge he relocated the dogs but they came back, and I wanted the police to take action," Carmen Brown said.

"Personally, I like dogs," Mark Brown said. "But these dogs hate people."

You can call Herald Writer Theresa Goffredo at 425-339-3097

or send e-mail to goffredo@heraldnet.com.

Here are some tips from dog trainer Eric Gillaspy of the Academy of Canine Behavior in Bothell on what you can do if menaced by a vicious dog: