A dog named Bruce is set to be euthanized after a judge denied an appeal May 6 in Ventura County Superior Court. The judge upheld an earlier decision by the county to put down the dog after it bit several people.
“I’m devastated – I’m losing a part of my family,” said dog owner Claire Birgy after the hearing, fighting back tears. “This is really unfair.”
Bruce, a 3-year-old Great Pyrenees mix, had attacked four people, including one person who was injured from multiple bites from the dog and required sutures.
Ventura County Animal Services decided March 26 that Bruce is a “vicious” dog and that releasing him would create a significant threat, according to court documents. The order states the dog “shall be destroyed by the animal control officer.”
On April 15, the Ventura County Superior Court found that “the dog Bruce committed unprovoked attacks on four persons since Feb. 1, 2024,” according to a three-page minute order.
Judge Mark Borrell denied the owners’ request for a new hearing after Ventura County Animal Services objected, arguing the action amounted to an illegal second appeal.
“The reality is a trial court has no jurisdiction to determine which of its orders or judgments are appealable or not,” Borrell said.
The latest court decision was “a travesty and miscarriage of justice for this animal,” and nothing else can be done, said Jeffrey Johnsen, an attorney for the dog owners.
Those on the side of the dog owners say they hope to continue pressuring the director of animal services against euthanasia. They say Bruce’s past behavior was uncharacteristic of the dog.
The attacks were unprovoked and Bruce bit people on their face or arm or other places, court documents say.
Birgy said they’d been homeless “living in and out of a truck” and a motel. Bruce is a large dog and “needed a lot more space and it was just a series of unfortunate events for him that all culminated in him being really overprotective,” Birgy said.
“As long as the circumstances are different, I have no doubt that he has a good chance of living a violence-free coexistence with other people and animals,” she said.
Family friend Rebecca Perrote, whose dogs played with Bruce at local dog parks, said that Birgy has anxiety issues that were exacerbated by being homeless and Bruce was meant to be an emotional support animal for her.
Birgy and her husband are not Bruce’s owners anymore due to the court ruling against them, court documents say. But Birgy said she visits Bruce daily at the Camarillo animal shelter, where he is being held. She is not allowed to touch him and instead throws treats to the dog.
The judge has ordered Bruce to be “humanely euthanized” by May 15, said Randy Friedman, spokesman for Ventura County Animal Services. Ventura County Animal Services has not yet set a date, he said.
The court order does not allow for the transfer of Bruce to another facility, he said.
Birgy said she wants to be there when Bruce is euthanized.
Wes Woods II covers West County for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at wesley.woodsii@vcstar.com, 805-437-0262 or @JournoWes.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Ventura judge upholds order to euthanize dog after biting ruling
Reporting by Wes Woods II, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
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