Submitted by Care2
A Care2 petition is demanding a Lewis County family be allowed open visitation with their dog, Hank, a pitbull mix who is being held at Lewis County Animal Control Shelter due to a legal mix-up that the family says could lead to the dog being killed on Oct. 18. The petition has gathered over 44,000 signatures.
View the Care2 Petition here.
The Propp-Estimos family told Care2 they adopted Hank in January 2017, without knowing his history. Hank was in the vicinity when another dog attacked livestock. Even though he didn’t do anything, he was ruled a “dangerous dog” and is set to be euthanized on Oct. 18.
The case is being appealed, and the family is fighting. Hank has been behind bars for five months, and the Propp-Estimos visit him daily. They told Care2 they just want to be able to be able to take the dog out of his cage to play with him.
The situation is falling hard on the family’s 9-year-old son, who “doesn’t understand why he can’t hug and play with his dog,” writes family friend Jackie Perrigoue, who authored the petition and lives in Cinebar, WA. “His experience with his first pet is a tragedy that will surely scar him for life.”
In April 2016, Hank (then named Tank and owned by someone else) was on a neighbor’s property playing with their pet goats. Hank had been raised around goats and loved them. His pitbull mix mother then entered the property and attacked and killed the goats and injured a pony.
Hank was in the vicinity at the time of the act, but dashboard camera video shows Hank was not involved. Witnesses testified that Hank did not participate and a photo of him taken in the police car 30 minutes after the act shows he had no blood on him.
In a trial, the dog was found guilty, as Hank’s owner didn’t testify on his behalf. Hank was deemed a “dangerous” animal, and as such, must be euthanized.
Yet Hank’s new family says Lewis County District Court Judge Buzzard has refused to consider new evidence in the case, and that when prosecuting attorney Jonathan Meyer learned Hank had not been killed from the ruling and had been adopted instead, he had law enforcement officers apprehend the dog.
