Phineas is free. If only he could be found.
In a long-running and at times bizarre case that consumed the small Ozarks town of Salem, Mo., and attracted a national following, a Dent County judge ruled Friday that Phineas the dog should not be euthanized for allegedly biting a 7-year-old girl.
The yellow Labrador retriever had been sentenced to death in July 2012 by the town’s mayor, who ruled the dog was vicious. The dog’s owners, Pat and Amber Sanders, appealed. And the dog’s case has been winding through the courts.
Judge Scott Bernstein upheld this year the dog’s death order. But on Friday, after a new hearing that included the testimony of a dog-bite expert that cast doubt on the case, Bernstein changed his mind.
He wrote in a court opinion that he had come to believe that Phineas had not actually bitten the young girl and that two previous biting incidents were, if anything, overblown. He wrote that it would be “a manifest injustice” if the dog were euthanized. He ordered the dog returned to the Sanders family.
But Phineas has disappeared.
On Oct. 11, just days before the hearing that led up to Friday’s ruling, the dog was stolen from the veterinary clinic in Salem where he had been living for several months under the order of authorities. Police say they are stumped. There were no signs of a break-in. Nothing else was taken — no drugs, money or other animals. Just the one dog who has billboards along Interstate 44 pleading, “Don’t let Salem, MO kill me.”
The mystery deepened last week. An anonymous letter sent to Phineas’ owners indicated that the dog had been stolen by someone sympathetic to the animal’s cause and that the dog was being cared for, said Joe Simon, the Kirkwood attorney representing the dog’s owners.
Now, Phineas’ owners are waiting to see if the dog emerges.
“We’re happy with the ruling,” Simon said. “Obviously, it’s a bitter victory unless Phineas is found.”
The city had custody of the animal since the June 22, 2012, biting incident. The young victim, who was playing in her friend’s backyard when she was bitten, was treated at an area hospital. She was not seriously injured.
But this is not the first time the dog has disappeared. In October 2012, while the dog was being housed at the county animal shelter, a hole was cut in a fence and the dog was whisked away. He was found wandering near the shelter days later. No explanation was ever given for the incident.
Then Phineas was moved to locations so secret that his owners made a habeus corpus filing in court to see him again. That’s when state officials ordered the city to find a licensed home for the dog. In May, Phineas was sent to Dr. J.J. Tune’s clinic, from which he vanished earlier this month.
In court recently, Tune and canine behavioral consultant James Crosby testified they did not believe Phineas had bitten the young girl. Both men said photos of the wound did not match Phineas’ bite and did not appear to be a canine bite at all. Tune called it a “primate bite.”
“This particular dog did not inflict this particular injury,” Crosby testified.
Bernstein cited their testimony, along with what he said were the changing stories told by the victim and the victim’s mother, as reasons for changing his mind and overruling the mayor.
Salem Mayor Gary Brown has found himself in the middle of a dispute that has brought out strong emotions. Everyone in town seems to have an opinion on the case. “Phineas for mayor” bumper stickers have popped up. Others believe the mayor should stand by his original ruling.
But all along Brown has said he wished he could free Phineas, but the matter was tied up in the courts. On Friday, notified at home by a reporter about the judge’s ruling, Brown sounded relieved.
“I’m glad the dog is lost, I’ll be truthful with you,” he said.
If the dog was gone, maybe the controversy would follow. And if Phineas returns, Brown said he would recommend the city not appeal the judge’s order.
He is willing to let this dog lie.
via www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/judge-exonerates-phineas/article_1038a5eb-f340-50cb-b2b4-cd01586ff26c.html
In a long-running and at times bizarre case that consumed the small Ozarks town of Salem, Mo., and attracted a national following, a Dent County judge ruled Friday that Phineas the dog should not be euthanized for allegedly biting a 7-year-old girl.
The yellow Labrador retriever had been sentenced to death in July 2012 by the town’s mayor, who ruled the dog was vicious. The dog’s owners, Pat and Amber Sanders, appealed. And the dog’s case has been winding through the courts.
Judge Scott Bernstein upheld this year the dog’s death order. But on Friday, after a new hearing that included the testimony of a dog-bite expert that cast doubt on the case, Bernstein changed his mind.
He wrote in a court opinion that he had come to believe that Phineas had not actually bitten the young girl and that two previous biting incidents were, if anything, overblown. He wrote that it would be “a manifest injustice” if the dog were euthanized. He ordered the dog returned to the Sanders family.
But Phineas has disappeared.
On Oct. 11, just days before the hearing that led up to Friday’s ruling, the dog was stolen from the veterinary clinic in Salem where he had been living for several months under the order of authorities. Police say they are stumped. There were no signs of a break-in. Nothing else was taken — no drugs, money or other animals. Just the one dog who has billboards along Interstate 44 pleading, “Don’t let Salem, MO kill me.”
The mystery deepened last week. An anonymous letter sent to Phineas’ owners indicated that the dog had been stolen by someone sympathetic to the animal’s cause and that the dog was being cared for, said Joe Simon, the Kirkwood attorney representing the dog’s owners.
Now, Phineas’ owners are waiting to see if the dog emerges.
“We’re happy with the ruling,” Simon said. “Obviously, it’s a bitter victory unless Phineas is found.”
The city had custody of the animal since the June 22, 2012, biting incident. The young victim, who was playing in her friend’s backyard when she was bitten, was treated at an area hospital. She was not seriously injured.
But this is not the first time the dog has disappeared. In October 2012, while the dog was being housed at the county animal shelter, a hole was cut in a fence and the dog was whisked away. He was found wandering near the shelter days later. No explanation was ever given for the incident.
Then Phineas was moved to locations so secret that his owners made a habeus corpus filing in court to see him again. That’s when state officials ordered the city to find a licensed home for the dog. In May, Phineas was sent to Dr. J.J. Tune’s clinic, from which he vanished earlier this month.
In court recently, Tune and canine behavioral consultant James Crosby testified they did not believe Phineas had bitten the young girl. Both men said photos of the wound did not match Phineas’ bite and did not appear to be a canine bite at all. Tune called it a “primate bite.”
“This particular dog did not inflict this particular injury,” Crosby testified.
Bernstein cited their testimony, along with what he said were the changing stories told by the victim and the victim’s mother, as reasons for changing his mind and overruling the mayor.
Salem Mayor Gary Brown has found himself in the middle of a dispute that has brought out strong emotions. Everyone in town seems to have an opinion on the case. “Phineas for mayor” bumper stickers have popped up. Others believe the mayor should stand by his original ruling.
But all along Brown has said he wished he could free Phineas, but the matter was tied up in the courts. On Friday, notified at home by a reporter about the judge’s ruling, Brown sounded relieved.
“I’m glad the dog is lost, I’ll be truthful with you,” he said.
If the dog was gone, maybe the controversy would follow. And if Phineas returns, Brown said he would recommend the city not appeal the judge’s order.
He is willing to let this dog lie.
via www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/judge-exonerates-phineas/article_1038a5eb-f340-50cb-b2b4-cd01586ff26c.html
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