Attorney William D’Alton appeared on behalf of Larry Reinlasoder, the dog’s owner, in Billings Municipal Court on Thursday.
D’Alton entered pleas of not guilty on Reinlasoder’s behalf to two charges of owning a potentially dangerous animal.
According to municipal court records, a pretrial omnibus hearing will be held at 1 p.m. June 30.
A date for trial has not yet been set.
The May 9 attack was reported by Joyce Jensen, who had a 2-year-old 8-pound terrier mix named Meeska.
Meeska was killed in the incident, which occurred in the general section of the dog park, which is open to all dogs. A separate area at the park is reserved for small dogs.
The citation for Meeska’s attack was issued May 10.
The March 21 attack was reported three days later by an owner interviewed at High Sierra by an officer during an animal control investigation into the incident.
The dog cited in the attacks is named “Nadya,” a young Great Dane, according to court documents.
Reinlasoder, who owns six dogs with his wife, including four Great Danes, a St. Bernard and a Wheaten terrier, maintained that he did not know of the March incident and that Nadya had never been violent in the past.
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| RIP little Meeska |
Nadya has not been quarantined because, while the dog fits the Billings City Code definition of potentially dangerous, it was not classified as dangerous.
The animal control officers classified Nadya as a potentially dangerous dog because the incidents did not inflict bodily injury to a person, the dog was not menacing and had not previously been cited for being vicious.
If Reinlasoder is found guilty of having a potentially dangerous dog, the dog could face strict license restrictions or euthanization.
D’Alton is the same attorney who helped Reinlasoder get a $300,000 award in an unlawful termination lawsuit against the city of Colstrip. Reinlasoder was formerly the police chief in Colstrip and a Billings Police officer.
(Billings Gazette - May 22, 2015)
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