A judge is refusing to spare the life of a dog named Dakota, despite her being pardoned by Maine Governor Paul LePage last month. The bite-happy husky was declared dangerous for biting a smaller dog in February– the second attack in a single year.
Judge Valerie Stanfill is citing Maine law requiring that dangerous dogs be euthanized if they are repeat offenders. Dakota’s first victim, a pug, was mauled to death in May of 2016. The second-time Dakota attacked an animal—a Pekinese also owned by the same family—the dog was not seriously harmed.
According to The Bangor Daily News, a miscommunication between the Kennebec County District Attorney’s Office and the Humane Society Waterville Area allowed for Dakota to be adopted on March 18 before Judge Stanfill issued the kill order.
Dakota’s new owner, Linda Janeski, found legal representation and filed a motion asking for the judge to rescind her execution order. Janeski’s attorneys argued that the shelter vouched for the dog’s good behavior and that Janeski had agreed to abide by the original court order following Dakota’s first attack. She agreed to confine the dog behind a 6-foot tall fence and walk her on a short leash, with Dakota wearing a muzzle whenever outside.
Picking up on the case, Governor LePage — who’s known for colorful behavior and off-color language — issued a “pardon” to the dog on March 30, casting Dakota into the national spotlight.
“I have reviewed the facts of this case and I believe the dog ought to be provided a full and free pardon,” the governor said. He based his decision to spare Dakota’s life on information provided to him by the animal shelter that described the dog as a “model resident, extremely friendly, social with other dogs and easy for staff to handle.”
Likewise, the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry’s animal welfare program called for the dog’s life to be saved, stating that she had been rehabilitated. Speaking for the department, Assistant Attorney General Mark A. Randlett sent a letter to Judge Stanfill to say that the statute was intended “to protect the public by deterring owners of dangerous dogs from letting them loose. It is not intended as a punishment for a dog, in this case, Dakota.”
Maine’s governor, however, does not have formal legal powers to pardon an animal, in the way that governors in death penalty states (which Maine is not) can commute the death sentences of the condemned.
The Bangor Daily News states that Dakota’s fate may ultimately rest in the hands of Maine Supreme Judicial Court.
Ian Miles Cheong is a journalist and outspoken media critic. You can reach him through social media at @stillgray on Twitter and on Facebook.
