Dog owner petitions euthanasia order – Herald and News

The owner of four dogs involved in an attack on a young girl in June has filed a court petition to overturn a decision by Klamath County Commissioners to have the dogs put down.

On Friday, Vincent Berry filed a petition for judicial review in Klamath County Circuit Court to stay the commissioners order that the dogs, four mastiffs, be euthanized on or after Aug. 21.

The order also directed Berry to turn over one of the four dogs not yet in custody. On Saturday, Commissioner Kelley Minty Morris confirmed the fourth dog has been surrendered.

The petition will be heard by Judge Marci Adkisson and, as of Saturday, a future hearing date had yet to be published.

Commissioners voted unanimously Aug. 11 to euthanize the dogs after hearing testimony about an attack June 1 on the 3800 block of Shasta Way. The 10-year-old daughter of Berrys neighbor entered Berrys property and was mauled by the dogs, suffering injuries including a torn scalp, broken ribs and a punctured lung.

Because of the severity of the attack, the dogs were considered dangerous and officials were tasked with determining if they should be put down. Because no criminal charges were filed, authority fell to commissioners to make the decision.

After considering if Berry could safely contain the dogs in the future, among other factors, commissioners decided it was in the interest of public safety to euthanize the animals. Berrys sister and legal adviser LaTronda Darnell said Berry plans to argue during appeal that commissioners did not consider all potential options to safely contain the dogs.

During testimony last week, Berry said his plan was to move to a more rural property out of state where the dogs would be further from other people. His petition Friday indicated his current address was outside Washougal, Wash.

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Dog owner petitions euthanasia order - Herald and News