Dog on death row gets pardon

It was condemned for ‘murdering’ a fellow canine

Lucky dog! A dog on death row in the U.S. for ‘murdering’ a fellow canine and attacking another has been granted pardon by the Governor of the U.S. State of Maine.

Governor Paul LePage wielded his executive authority to show mercy to an unlikely beneficiary — a dog named Dakota. A husky, Dakota had escaped from a previous owner about a year ago and killed a small dog, leading to her designation as a “dangerous dog.”

Dakota later broke out of court-ordered confinement to bite a neighbour’s dog, which survived.

Another escape led to her capture by an animal control officer, who brought Dakota to the Waterville Humane Society shelter in February as a stray. A family that knew Dakota as a puppy subsequently adopted her.

First of its kind

Unknown to her new owners, the local district attorney brought Dakota’s case before a judge on March 21. The judge ruled Dakota should be euthanised, WGME-TV reported.

Judge LePage was alerted to the case by a board member for the Humane Society in Waterville. He issued a full pardon for Dakota on Thursday, apparently the first of its kind.