The Vermilion County Animal Shelter made a decision Tuesday of this week (July 21st) to euthanize a seven month old puppy that was reported to be a boxer – pit bull mix.
While Shelter Director Ryan Goodner has told CIMG that this decision had to be made because of two incidents that showed the young animal to be potentially very dangerous; Jessica Hagley’s family in Hoopeston, the animal’s former foster home that in the end wanted to adopt it, claims this male puppy was a very sweet animal that warmed up to them after being rescued from a Bismarck field; and simply needed to trust someone.
The story began on June 18th; when Hagley, visiting her father in Bismarck, was made aware of a puppy that had been aimlessly wandering in a nearby field for three days.
Hagley, along with her 18 year old daughter and 17 year old son; rescued the animal and contacted the Vermilion County Animal Shelter. After the puppy was fixed and chipped at the shelter, Hagley’s family decided to be a foster family for it until a permanent home could be found (they already had a dog in the family). Video provided to CIMG shows the dog playing very nicely with Jessica’s family, as it continued to warm up to them.
Photo provided by Jessica Hagley’s family.
CIMG has been told that on Thursday, July 16th; a prospective adopting family from Watseka came to Hoopeston and took the puppy home with them. Goodner has told CIMG that two scary incidents happened within the first full day. He says that after the puppy lunged at a four-year-old child and scared him; his grandmother decided that they could not keep the puppy, and tried to contact the Vermilion County Shelter after hours, hoping to drop it off that night. Then, the following morning, Goodner said the puppy once again lunged at the four-year-old boy; this time biting the front of his shirt.
Hearing about all this, Hagley contacted the animal shelter and asked if they could once again be the puppy’s foster family. She says they were told “no,” with the shelter stating that this was a potentially dangerous dog that needed to be in their hands for proper evaluation. At that point, according to Hagley, three different entities offered to take the puppy off the shelter’s hands. Hagley’s family offered to adopt it themselves; and a couple of no-kill shelters, Hoopeston Animal Rescue Team and Valor in Catlin, also offered too take the young animal off the county shelter’s hands.
Hagley says both she and the two shelters figured that if one of the no-kill shelters took the animal in, the Vermilion County Animal Shelter would not be liable for any future accidents should the puppy become aggressive again. But Goodner stated to CIMG, “That’s not the way attorneys work.” He stated that personal injury lawyers would likely go after every entity that was involved at some time; should there be a serious incident.
Upon hearing that the puppy once welcomed into her home had been euthanized, Jessica Hagley told CIMG that “This puppy was not just a number in an animal shelter. He rode with us, shared cuddles with us, and was just the sweetest dog. He was perfect.”
Ryan Goodner summed up the county and shelter’s point of view with this statement: “The liability of an animal with reported and documented aggression towards anyone, especially a child, remains on the county regardless of any rescue accepting possession of the animal. The risk and liability will always remain on the county, even if a rescue signs a waiver accepting liability.”
