Orange County has agreed to pay $450,000 to a volunteer who was mauled by a dog at the county’s Animal Care facility in Tustin, settling a negligence lawsuit filed in August 2025.
The suit alleged Emily Moncur was bitten 18 times by a dog named Blaze, who became more agitated and aggressive the louder she screamed.
Moncur, 46, alleged shelter supervisors left her alone with the dog — a black-and-white mixture of Labrador retriever and beagle — without any safeguards or warnings about its propensity for violence.
“The dog that attacked me was part of a cruelty case where he was severely abused by his owner and her family, which was not disclosed to volunteers,” Moncur said in a statement released by her attorney. “He was fast tracked for adoption, exposing not only volunteers but also the public to this dangerous dog by featuring him at an adoption event two days prior to him attacking me.”
The Orange County Board of Supervisors approved the $450,000 settlement with Moncur rather than defend the case at trial.
According to the lawsuit, Moncur was at the shelter on Aug. 21, 2023, taking pictures of the dogs for the facility. She had photographed 14 that day and went on to take pictures of Blaze. While attempting to put him back in his kennel, Moncur said, she was attacked by the dog, which bit her on the arms, legs, buttocks and neck.
She suffered 96 puncture wounds, requiring 46 external sutures and many internal sutures, Moncur said.
The county “knew or had reason to know that Blaze had dangerous propensities and posed a severe risk to people at the shelter,” said the lawsuit, filed by attorney John Montevideo.
No one responded to Moncur’s screams, as she was trapped by the dog in the kennel.
The shelter had limited staff, volunteers were required to work alone with dogs and workers were encouraged to wear earplugs, making it more difficult to hear colleagues’ cries for help.
Additionally, Moncur was never given any training or instruction on what to do during a dog attack at the shelter, the suit said. It added that Moncur was not taught how to unleash a reluctant dog who does not want to be returned to the kennel.
“The events of that day left me scarred both physically and mentally and continue to haunt me to this day and will for many years to come, probably the rest of my life,” Moncur sad. “Unfortunately, there are only cosmetic procedures to help heal the physical injuries and scars, and nothing can be done for the nerve damage.”
Montevideo added: “Emily’s story is about a preventable incident caused by a dereliction of duties that unnecessarily increased the risks of working with neglected dogs in Orange County. The community needs to know about it and demand reform.”