Judge Orders Karma To Be Sent To North Carolina Wolf Sanctuary
SANTA ANA (CBSLA.com) — A judge has ordered that Karma, whose plight has won the support of thousands of Orange County residents, be sent to a wolf sanctuary in North Carolina rather than be euthanized.
The purebred Siberian Husky, who was initially deemed to be a wolf-dog hybrid, won the hearts of more than 55,000 residents in Orange County who signed a petition in support of sending him to a sanctuary, including three Orange County Board of Supervisors who voted against euthanization.
The supervisors voted 3-2 Monday, with Andrew Do and Shawn Nelson dissenting, to support placing the dog, Karma, in the care of a wolf sanctuary in North Carolina. The dog was initially deemed a wolf-dog hybrid, but attorney Christine Garcia, who represents Karma's owners, says she has papers to prove he is a purebred Siberian Husky.
Orange County Superior Court Judge Corey S. Cramin earlier ordered the dog be put to sleep, which prompted a petition signed by more than 55,000 residents who want Karma spared.
"We would hope in a best-case scenario Karma returns home to his guardians, but if that's not possible we would like the dog to live out the rest of his life happy in a sanctuary," Garcia said.
Garcia said "seven generations can be proven" in the dog's lineage. Animal control officials viewed the dog as a hybrid, but Garcia said all Siberian Husky's have wolf ancestry that will show up in tests.
"In fact, every dog is going to have some wolf in him, even a beagle," Garcia said.
Garcia represents Joshua and Tiffany Ogle, and one of their children, an 8-year-old, was expected to attend today's hearing, the attorney said.
The county supervisors held a special meeting Monday on the 4-year-old dog's fate. The move came after a contentious debate last week, when OC Animal Care Director Jennifer Hawkins, a veterinarian, stood by her designation of Karma as a vicious dog that should be put down. Orange County Supervisor Todd Spitzer said the board's decision was not meant to overrule Hawkins' ruling, but to find a home for the animal.
In part, Hawkins declared the dog was vicious because it once killed two cats in Anaheim. It was impounded in May when its owners were arrested in a domestic violence dispute, and the couple's four children -- ranging in age from infant to 8 years old -- were placed at the Orangewood Children's Home, Spitzer said. After Karma's impounding, OC Animal Care officials determined the husky was part-wolf and could not be properly vaccinated against rabies.
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