Or, it could spend the rest of its live caged or muzzled, every time it is permitted outdoors.
Before that would happen, according to Saddle Brook-based attorney Curtis LaForge, the Rottweiler’s owner, Debbie Testa, would give it up.
Testa adopted the dog last year from the Randolph Township-based 11th Hour Rescue. The group rescues dogs from other states that are in high danger of being put down.
If Testa were to give up the dog, named Harley, it would be taken to a new home, with a family, LaForge said Friday, with the time and the wherewithal to handle a large, active animal like a Rottweiler.
The Rottweiler ran through a screened window of its home on Rocky Heights Road, ran across the roadway and grabbed the nine-pound male Yorkie, which was being walked by owner Ruth Welt.
The Yorkie, named Rambo, died after suffering massive injuries.
Welt filed a complaint in the township’s municipal court which alleges that the animal is “potentially dangerous.”
“We are having the dog evaluated,” LaForge said in a telephone interview Friday.
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| By any means necessary: Says it's the victim's fault her beloved pet was attacked, mauled and killed. |
“If three dog trainers find him dangerous, Ms. Testa has agreed to give him up. He would go to a family or individual with the wherewithal and the ability to handle such a large animal,” he said.
“If the dog is deemed potentially dangerous, I am fully prepared to try this case. It is my strong belief, based on the testimony of witnesses and neighbors that this woman (Welt) antagonized that dog purposely,” LaForge said.
“She (Welt) was the cause of what happened. No one’s dog should be killed, but I have talked to the animal control officer Ms. (Meredith) Petrillo, and her opinion is that this dog will be found not potentially dangerous,” LaForge said.
“If he is found potentially dangerous, he will have to spend the rest of his life in a cage. That’s a terrible life. She (Testa) is willing to give him up to another family before that happens. It was a tough decision. But if it were my dog, there is no way in hell I would allow him to live like that,” LaForge said.
LaForge said he himself owns a dog- a Boxer- that was an 11th Hour Rescue dog.
“He was 35 pounds when I got him. He’s 80 pounds now,” LaForge said.
“I think this dog (Harley) was provoked. He was absolutely provoked, based upon everything I have heard. You never know how a trial is going to go though,” he said.
“The judge could say this animal is dangerous, and order him euthanized. We aren’t willing to take that chance. It would be in the best interest of the dog for Ms. Testa to give him up, and that is what she has agreed to do,” he said.
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| I hope ACO Meredith Petrillo responds to LaForge's allegations that she doesn't think, in her professional opinion, that this killer Rottweiler is deserving of a dangerous dog designation. |
“We don’t want to see him live in solitary confinement,” he said.
Monday, Welt said that LaForge’s assertion is both “ridiculous” and “absurd.”
“I have lived in this town since 1970. I have always had dogs. . I always have walked my dogs, and we have never had streetlights in my neighborhood. So, I use a flashlight to look out for deer and bear and other people. I want to know who is out there with me. Why in the world would I want to deliberately antagonize a dog?” she asked.
[If she had a flashlight with her and was walking her dog in the darkness and suddenly heard a large dog barking in an aggressive manner, why would you not shine your flashlight towards the barking? That doesn't mean she was 'antagonizing' or 'provoking' the Rottweiler. And I don't even know that that's what she did... It just sounds like a reasonable thing to do when you're walking your dog in the dark by yourself.]
Welt said that since the incident, she has researched the Rottweiler breed.
“They are considered a dangerous breed, and they must go to very particular environments,” she said.
If there is a history of aggressiveness, she said, most Rottweiler organizations won’t adopt them out. When they are adopted out, they must go, she said, to “responsible people.”
“Dogs don’t have intelligence like humans do. If you pinch a dog on Sunday, it’s not going to plot and plan to bite you back on Tuesday. They are dogs. They don’t think like humans. They work on instinct. They don’t have the thought process that humans have,” Welt said.
She said her main goal, at this point, is to get the public educated about the dangers of aggressive breeds. “You wouldn’t want a coyote or a bear in your neighborhood, right?”
LaForge said he was eager to take the case when he heard that Harley was an 11th Hour Rescue Dog, and he had much praise for the organization.
He did admit, however, that it’s a bit unorthodox.
“This is my first dog murder case. Usually, I handle human murder cases,” he said.
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| LaForge says it's Rambo's owner's fault that he was mauled,had his guts and bones crushed, suffering horribly by this 'rescue' Rottweiler, before dying |
“But I wanted this case. I love my dog. I was the winner in my case. That’s how good this dog is. I can’t say enough about this dog,” he said.
Harley is in the custody of Petrillo currently.
Petrillo did not return a phone call for comment.
An agreement between LaForge and the municipal prosecutor calls for Harley to be evaluated over the next few weeks by three professional dog trainers. If Harley is deemed trainable and not dangerous, an adoptive home would be found for him. If deemed untrainable or hostile by the experts and a ruling is made by the court that Harley is “potentially dangerous,” a home capable of handling restrictions would be sought.
A hearing has been set for Thursday, July 11 in municipal court, before Judge Gerald Smith, to determine if the dog is “potentially dangerous” or not.
(New Jersey Hills - June 25, 2013)
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