If a Pit Bull - or any aggressive dog, for that matter - bites a person, should that dog automatically be put to death?
That was the question facing a judge in Thibodaux, La., after a dog bit a woman last week, severely injuring her left arm. The woman, 48-year-old Tecla Smith, will require several reconstructive surgeries as a result of the bite.
Local sheriff's officials sought to have the dog, a three-year-old Pit Bull, euthanized, but an animal rescue organization in St. Tammany Parish stepped in and volunteered to care for the dog while its owners make their home safe for keeping a dog deemed dangerous.
The judge, Jerome Barbera, agreed to spare the dog and gave his owners, Jerome and Lillian Jarreau, time to comply with state and parish laws. They include building a fence for their yard, buying a kennel and placing a sign outside their house warning the public of the dog's presence.
"It was an unexpected, pleasant surprise," said Mike Jimenez, sheriff's staff attorney. "We never wanted to have the dog killed, but our greater duty is to the general public. I think with this compromise, everybody will be safe and it will give the Jarreaus a chance to become responsible dog owners."
The dog will be kept by the Pontchartrain Humane Society until the Jarreaus have their home prepared to care for the dog.
I'm happy a dog's life will be spared, but I sure hope the owners exercise better responsibility from now on. When dogs are dangerous, it's the fault of the owners, not the dog.
