Skippy The Dog Gets Another Chance
FREETOWN (CBS) -- A golden retriever sentenced to death in the town of Freetown has been given a reprieve and a second chance.
"It was emotional because it was up and down a couple of times, and we didn't think we were going to be able to do it," said Ruth Marshman, a volunteer at a New Bedford animal shelter who arrived at a deal with the town to save the dog.
It came so close for Skippy, whose saga began last fall when he was accused of twice attacking the one-year-old granddaughter of his former owner. The Freetown Board of Selectmen said it had no choice but to order the dog be euthanized.
WBZ-TV's Beth Germano reports.
"I think he didn't get a good start, and didn't have the proper tools," said Marshman. But Skippy went viral, as his case became a Facebook phenomon with more than 5,700 "Likes," catching the town's attention.
"I think it brought people together for a common goal, made them aware of this going on where they may not have been aware of it," she said.
The town set conditions on Skippy's reprieve. Among them, that he be neutered, trained, not put up for adoption in Freetown, and not by a family with small children. Last month his previous owners agreed to give him up, and now Marshman is grateful he got a second chance.
"I don't think it could get much better really, unless we save another animal in his predicament," she said.
Skippy is now in foster care and will be put up for adoption when his trainers believe he's ready.
