- December 15, 2025
Brandi Bookamer continued to recover Thursday in the hospital, just four days after she was viciously attacked by five pit bulls in Daytona North. Meanwhile, the five pit bulls that were taken into custody by Animal Control continued to be quarantined Thursday afternoon as officials investigated the incident.
Bookamer was scheduled to remain in the hospital for a few more days as of late Wednesday afternoon, according to Lt. Bob Weber, public information officer for the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
As of Thursday afternoon, it hadn't been confirmed that James Hays' five pit bulls were even the dogs involved in the attack.
Investigators with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office have determined that there won’t be any criminal charges filed against Hays, regardless of if it were his dogs that were involved. The case will remain civil, and Bookamer could still file civil charges. If the investigators conclude the dogs are owned by someone other than Hays, then criminal charges could be pursued, Weber said.
Animal Control took the dogs from the residence Sunday evening. The Flagler Humane Society contracts with Animal Control on these issues, said Diane Voigt, president of the board of directors for the Flagler Humane Society. Voigt said Thursday that Animal Control is still conducting the investigation because of some inconsistencies with the reports.
“If we find that these are the dogs that were responsible, then I think it’s a pretty safe bet that we will recommend euthanization,” Voigt said. “If they are not the dogs, then we need to find the dogs that were involved.”
If they are not the dogs, they will likely be returned to Hays, Voigt added.
According to the Sheriff’s Office report, Animal Control has been called to the home of Hays before because of aggressive dogs. But Voigt said that’s not entirely true after all. Although Animal Control has been out there before, officers have found nothing circumstantial.
“We can only deal with what we find when we get out there,” Voigt said. . We have not found anything that this person has done wrong with respect to the way he’s treated his animals.
Voigt did say there are “a ton” of dogs in the area of Daytona North. “It’s not a good situation in general,” she said.
The five pit bulls that have been taken because of the attack were spayed and neutered and vaccinated under a PetSmart grant. “There was absolutely nothing in their behavior at that point that caused us concern,” Voigt said.
The investigation could take up to another week.
“It’s a very difficult situation when we don’t have all of the information that we need,” Voigt said. “We all feel terrible about this happening, but we don’t want to be in the position where we are euthanizing dogs that did nothing wrong, and that’s where we are trying to get to right now.”
