A dog that was due to be put down after mauling its owners to death may receive a stay of execution after German authorities admitted mistakes following a nationwide petition to save it.
Chico, a staffordshire terrier, was captured by firefighters who broke into a flat near Hanover last Tuesday and found the bodies of its owners, named as Lezime K, 52, and her son Liridon, 27. An autopsy found they had bled to death after being attacked by the animal.
The dog was to be put down, but after more than 250,000 people signed a petition titled Let Chico Live, Udo Möller, a city spokesman, said authorities were ready to admit they had made mistakes by failing to remove Chico from its owners, having recognised that they were overwhelmed by the dog, which had been trained to fight.
“An expert appraisal, had it been carried out, would have led to the the owner being banned from keeping this animal,” he said.
Möller said authorities were investigating the possibility of placing the animal in a secure facility for dogs with behavioural difficulties. “We are looking into whether such a facility would be able to ensure the dog was no longer a danger for the public,” he said.
Heiko Schwarzfeld, the managing director of the Hanover animal welfare association, said: “If an animal sanctuary is seen as an option to save the dog’s life, it would then be a question of seeing who would pay for his keep.”
According to local newspaper reports, Chico had been bought by Lezime K eight years ago, shortly before the early release from prison of her ex-husband, who attacked her with an axe in 2005.
The injuries she sustained meant she had to use a wheelchair and she had told neighbours she acquired the dog, which was reportedly kept in a cage in the family flat, out of fear for her life and that of her four children.
In 2011, a social worker arranged for the woman’s son, then 20, who had learning difficulties, to take the dog to a trainer after recognising that the family was unable to cope with its “permanent aggression”.
The social worker said in a report at the time that she was convinced the dog “had been trained to be a fighting machine”. On the dog trainer’s advice, the veterinary inspection office was due to have ruled on whether the dog would be allowed to stay with the family.
But after the owner failed to present the animal to authorities, there appears to have been no follow-up. There was also an inadequate response to neighbours’ frequent complaints about the dog’s continuous barking.
People who signed the petition were awaiting an announcement by city authorities on Monday afternoon, when they were due to hold a press conference on the issue.
Scores of people have demonstrated outside the veterinary inspection office in Hanover, appealing to it not to put Chico down. The dog home Tierheim Hannover, where Chico has been kept in a cage since its capture, has reportedly received hundreds of requests from people willing to give it a new home. There have also been numerous attempts to break into the centre to rescue the dog.
“We have received hundreds of offers from people who want to take the dog,” Schwarzfeld said.
Corina Ludwig, one of the signatories to the petition, wrote: “Chico deserves a second chance with someone who is experienced with dogs. Please help him to be able to finally enjoy a loving life, which is appropriate for his species.”
