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Dog spared euthanization
Published 5:00pm Tuesday, November 24, 2009A dog ordered to be euthanized has been spared.
The Otter Tail County Board unanimously rescinded its order Tuesday to euthanize a sheltie named “Lily,” owned by Rebecca Frazier of Pelican Rapids. The motion to rescind the order was made by Commissioner Everett Erickson and seconded by Commissioner Roger Froemming.
However, the commissioners warned that if another bite occurs, the dog will be euthanized.
Lily and Frazier’s second dog were ordered euthanized by the county board in September. During the September meeting, commissioners stated the reasons for the decision were two bites and a lack of cooperation from Frazier.
Dog bite hearings are held after the dog has bitten twice. While Frazier admitted that Lily bit someone in 2007, it was unknown whether she bit someone in 2009. Frazier’s attorney Zenas Baer said the report stated that the two dogs ran out to a woman walking on Highway 31, but there was one bite and the woman didn’t know which dog bit her.
Frazier requested the board rehear the case after the second dog was hit by a car and died.
Lily then disappeared and county officials were unable to find her.
Baer requested the county board stay the execution for Lily. Lily is a “companion animal” for Frazier and “like a family member to her,” Baer said.
The dog who was killed was the “runner” and Lily would follow, Baer said.
“The demeanor of the sheltie has changed significantly,” Baer said.
Commissioner Lee Rogness questioned why Frazier had decided to appear now and not at the first dog bite hearing. He asked for an assurance that there won’t be a repeat of the situation where officials don’t know where the dog is or who is taking care of it.
“The dog was hid from us and this is a bad history,” Rogness told Frazier.
Commissioner Doug Huebsch echoed that sentiment, telling Frazier that the county board didn’t have any choice. He questioned whether the dog really was a member of the family if Frazier didn’t show up to the hearing on the dog.
“Why change now? And are you going to change?” he asked Frazier.
Baer responded that Frazier was unable to attend the hearing due to being in treatment.
Baer also took responsibility for the dog disappearing. He said he instructed the dog to be taken out of Otter Tail County as a way to protect the dog.
“That is on my shoulders and you can lay that at my feet,” he said.
Frazier also built a kennel for Lily and has the dog on a leash away from entrances at the residence and property lines, according to Baer.
An invisible fence is also in place on the property, according to Baer, although Public Health Director Diane Thorson said invisible fences aren’t acceptable because of past incidences when the battery went dead, allowing a dog to run through the line and off the property.
Huebsch questioned whether “Beware of dog” signs should be placed in the yard.
Public Health Director Diane Thorson responded that under the law, a resident who posts a sign needs to have proof of certain types of insurance.
Thorson pointed out that any report of another bite or Lily going off the property violates the order and should result in her being euthanized.
Baer called the condition “a death sentence for the dog” and was “onerous.”
“I think that’s a bit too harsh,” Baer said.
Erickson and Commissioner John Lindquist agreed with Baer. Erickson pointed out that the dog could run off and then come right back if she became loose.
