Thousands sign petition asking DA not to kill dog
ELBERT COUNTY, Colo. - After a dog slipped out of its collar in June and attacked several chickens, the fowls' owner shot the dog. It survived, but now the dog's fate may rest with a Colorado district attorney's office, reports CBS Denver.
After the attack, Noelle Linder found her then-7-month-old husky suffering from four gunshot wounds to her neck and hind leg. Though Sophie made it through the incident, four chickens died, and Linder was issued a summons for "unlawful ownership of a dangerous dog."
Linder could get up to six months in jail and her dog may be euthanized. The person who shot the dog was not charged, because state law allows the use of a firearm to protect livestock.
In early November, Linder began collecting signatures on an online petition, asking that a district attorney spare Sophie's life. The Elbert County District Attorney's Office has been pushing for euthanization, according to Linder.
By Thursday afternoon, nearly 20,000 people had signed the petition.
"We're good pet owners. It was just an accident that she slipped out," Linder told CBS Denver.
In the interview, she recalled finding her wounded dog.
"I bent down to get her and she was just choking on her own blood, and so I just started crying," Linder said in an interview with CBS Denver. She said the dog has recovered, though Sophie may still have hearing problems.
Linder's attorney said Sophie's possible euthanization is the result of an outdated law.
"This situation happens all across our state, every single day," Linder's attorney Juliet Piccone said. "Our dangerous dog law has got to change. It has a mandatory death sentence for any dog that kills a domestic animal, which includes a goat or a chicken."
The chicken owners say they just want their animals to live in peace. They say the chickens were properly enclosed and that the incident isn't the first time Sophie has attacked and killed their animals.