Phineas is missing — again.
The famed yellow Labrador retriever was reported missing — and presumably stolen — on Saturday from the veterinarian’s office in Salem, Mo., where he lived for more than a year during a contentious legal battle over his fate.
“I don’t know how that dog disappeared, not a clue,” Salem Police Chief Keith Steelman said Monday.
This was just the latest twist in a strange case that has garnered nationwide attention.
The saga began in July 2012, when Salem’s mayor ruled Phineas was vicious and should be euthanized for allegedly biting a 7-year-old girl on her abdomen. The girl was not seriously hurt. The incident occurred during a visit to a house where Phineas was a pet. Phineas’ owners, Patrick and Amber Sanders, challenged the mayor’s order in court.
A pivotal court hearing was scheduled in Salem for Thursday to listen to arguments about whether a judge was correct in upholding the mayor’s initial decision.
This was not the first time that Phineas disappeared. In October 2012, a couple of months after he was first seized by authorities, Phineas was living at the county animal shelter — until someone cut a hole in the fence and took the dog. Phineas mysteriously was returned to the shelter days later.
After that incident, the dog was moved to the vet clinic of Dr. J.J. Tune in downtown Salem, just two short blocks from the police station.
Phineas was last seen by Tune’s staff Friday afternoon, Chief Steelman said. When staff returned at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, the dog was gone. Steelman said his deputies have talked with the dog’s legal owners, who are challenging the mayor’s order in court, and authorities have no reason to suspect they were involved.
But the list of people who might want to steal Phineas is long.
“This dog has driven more wedges in this community than you can shake a stick at,” Steelman said.
Joe Simon, the Kirkwood attorney for Phineas’ owners, said subpoenas were served to several people last Tuesday ahead of this week’s court hearing. Simon said he became worried about Phineas’ safety after the subpoenas went out. He asked staff at the vet’s office to take Phineas home with them at night as a precaution.
But Tune, the veterinarian, said Monday he was under a state order to keep Phineas at his office. The clinic had been burglarized several times, most recently a few months earlier, when someone stole drugs and money from the office. But Phineas was not harmed. And the clinic’s locks were changed, Tune said.
Tune said he could imagine someone might want to hurt Phineas, but that the dog enjoyed overwhelming support in town.
“Ninety-nine percent of Salem supported that dog,” he said.
Simon said he believes Phineas was taken by someone who opposed his clients’ fight to save their pet.
“I would say there’s a 95 percent chance the dog is dead,” Simon said.
via www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/phineas-dog-at-center-of-dispute-in-missouri-is-missing/article_d942e081-bad7-5582-a6f8-b6df0c3cbd1e.html
The famed yellow Labrador retriever was reported missing — and presumably stolen — on Saturday from the veterinarian’s office in Salem, Mo., where he lived for more than a year during a contentious legal battle over his fate.
“I don’t know how that dog disappeared, not a clue,” Salem Police Chief Keith Steelman said Monday.
This was just the latest twist in a strange case that has garnered nationwide attention.
The saga began in July 2012, when Salem’s mayor ruled Phineas was vicious and should be euthanized for allegedly biting a 7-year-old girl on her abdomen. The girl was not seriously hurt. The incident occurred during a visit to a house where Phineas was a pet. Phineas’ owners, Patrick and Amber Sanders, challenged the mayor’s order in court.
A pivotal court hearing was scheduled in Salem for Thursday to listen to arguments about whether a judge was correct in upholding the mayor’s initial decision.
This was not the first time that Phineas disappeared. In October 2012, a couple of months after he was first seized by authorities, Phineas was living at the county animal shelter — until someone cut a hole in the fence and took the dog. Phineas mysteriously was returned to the shelter days later.
After that incident, the dog was moved to the vet clinic of Dr. J.J. Tune in downtown Salem, just two short blocks from the police station.
Phineas was last seen by Tune’s staff Friday afternoon, Chief Steelman said. When staff returned at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, the dog was gone. Steelman said his deputies have talked with the dog’s legal owners, who are challenging the mayor’s order in court, and authorities have no reason to suspect they were involved.
But the list of people who might want to steal Phineas is long.
“This dog has driven more wedges in this community than you can shake a stick at,” Steelman said.
Joe Simon, the Kirkwood attorney for Phineas’ owners, said subpoenas were served to several people last Tuesday ahead of this week’s court hearing. Simon said he became worried about Phineas’ safety after the subpoenas went out. He asked staff at the vet’s office to take Phineas home with them at night as a precaution.
But Tune, the veterinarian, said Monday he was under a state order to keep Phineas at his office. The clinic had been burglarized several times, most recently a few months earlier, when someone stole drugs and money from the office. But Phineas was not harmed. And the clinic’s locks were changed, Tune said.
Tune said he could imagine someone might want to hurt Phineas, but that the dog enjoyed overwhelming support in town.
“Ninety-nine percent of Salem supported that dog,” he said.
Simon said he believes Phineas was taken by someone who opposed his clients’ fight to save their pet.
“I would say there’s a 95 percent chance the dog is dead,” Simon said.
via www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/phineas-dog-at-center-of-dispute-in-missouri-is-missing/article_d942e081-bad7-5582-a6f8-b6df0c3cbd1e.html
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