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Loading...Beaten Service Dog Faces Execution
UPDATE (2/20/2013): Dutch has unfortunately been sentenced to death. His current owner, Jeremy Aguilar, will face a $500 fine and 2 days in jail. However, Aguilar is planning an appeal, so there’s still time to sign his petition.
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A beloved family pet and service dog named Dutch faces execution for allegedly attacking and injuring a woman after she beat him with her hands and a metal pole.
Dutch is a four-year-old, 107-pound American Allaunt. He is a service dog for Jeremy Aguilar, a disabled Army veteran who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, and was among the first to come from outside Louisiana to help after Hurricane Katrina.
Dutch’s plight is dire. His sentencing in Montrose, Colorado is scheduled for Thursday, February 14th, and the court has asked the Aguilars to hand him over to animal control before then. If they don’t, they will have to surrender Dutch to authorities on Thursday.
According to DogHeirs:
Jeremy and Heather [Aguiar] offered to send Dutch through a rehabilitation program, agreeing to the judge that if the evaluator considered Dutch aggressive, that they would surrender him. The Aguilars say that the judge told them that would only be allowed if Dutch’s former owner would agree to it.
She refused.
Jeremy Aguilar faces up to a year in jail, and the Aguilars may also have to pay a fine of up to $1,000 and to pay restitution to Dutch’s former owner.
Dutch, service dog to disabled veteran Jeremy Aguilar
The Confrontation — The Former Owner’s Version
The Aguilars left Dutch with his former owner while they were out of town. The former owner admits that she beat Dutch, but claims that she was only trying to separate him from her family’s pit bull. She says Dutch attacked her dog and that she used violence against Dutch to try to end the dogfight.
According to the Montrose Daily Press, after attacking Dutch she dragged him into her house by the collar. She was cleaning the blood off of him when he bit her thigh. She claims that the bite went through to the bone. The former owner says that when she turned to get away she fell and Dutch bit her buttocks, again to the bone, and then bit her finger, breaking bones and severing an artery.
The City of Montrose decided to prosecute the case based on “physical evidence, and testimony of the victim and other witnesses.”
The Aguilars’ Case
After she was bitten, the former owner claims that she went to her bedroom, closed the door, and called for help. But she didn’t call the police or ambulance. She says she didn’t want to involve them “out of fear that the emergency responders would be attacked.” Instead, she called her fiance.
While she claims that she was bitten to the bone in two different places, she didn’t get any stitches.
Heather Aguilar says that Dutch’s former owner told her that she punched Dutch in the face until her hands hurt, then hit him with a metal pole. It is disputed whether she kicked Dutch as well.
Dutch’s former owner beat him with this metal pole.
Dutch’s Temperament
Dutch was trained and certified as a service dog after the incident. He also passed the American Kennel Club’s (AKC) Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test. AKC CGC evaluator Sandie Wyman said that Dutch is “anything but aggressive.” ”I am the CGC evaluator that tested this sweet dog,” Wyman stated. “He did pass with flying colors and even gave me a kiss afterwards. This means that he will receive a real title from AKC stating he can now visit elderly people at nursing homes. I believe this dog is anything but aggressive. I am a certified dog trainer and have also done behavior objectives on animals. Dutch is anything but aggressive.”
Another experienced dog evaluator, Carrie Williams, praised Dutch’s sweet temperament. She is “a highly recognized and experienced retired dog trainer and evaluator who has evaluated for organizations including Therapy Dogs International (TDI) and the American Kennel Club’s (AKC) Canine Good Citizen Program (CGC).”
Williams said: “in my testing of dogs for TDI and the AKC and as a dog obedience instructor, I have dealt with a number of aggressive dogs. Dutch was not one of those dogs,” Carrie says. “Dutch is a sweetheart. In 26 years of training dogs, he is one of the nicest dogs I’ve ever come across. That is why I’m volunteering my time to try and save his life.”
After evaluating Dutch over three days, Williams said ”I truly believe this dog would not bite anyone unless he was provoked and felt like he was defending his life.” DogHeirs offers a detailed account of the tests Williams administered to test Dutch’s temperament. They seem likely to provoke even gentle dogs, but Dutch kept his cool.
The Aguilars took Dutch to a veterinarian after he was beaten. The vet’s report states that despite the pain he must have been suffering, Dutch “was extremely well-mannered and sweet in exam room. He did not require restraint during his exam, even when his abdomen, testicles and swollen face were palpated.”
Dutch with Jeremy Aguilar
If you believe that Dutch does not deserve to be killed for defending himself from a prolonged beating, please sign the Aguilars’ petition.
Related Stories:
The Love of a Good Dog: Service Dogs for PTSD
Norm’s Story — From Rescue to Service Dog
Pit Bull Service Dog Reunited With Disabled Vet
Read more: dutch, euthanasia, Jeremy Aguilar, service dog, therapy dog
Photo credits: Dog Heirs. Dutch with a friend.
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may
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I really don't understand why this dog should die. He should be living a GOOD life!! I mean its this woman who should go to jail. She is showing a form of animal cruelty. I think animals should have more rights!!
Les autorités policières doivent agir, punir cette femme et protéger l'animal. Quel est le problème quand vient le temps de protéger un animal ? J'ai très hâte que les mentalités changent et que chacun comprenne enfin que la maltraitance animale doit être arrêtée et punie puisqu'il s'agit d'un acte criminel, rien de moins.
This former owner is the one who deserves severe punishment - what's wrong with the authorities in the US??? She is the aggressor and the dog is the victim. Couldn't be more simple. The fact that she didn't call the police is highly suspicious anyway!
Is there any update on Dutch and what happened to him? Hope he is well and with his present owner.
the woman should be going to jail and facing death not dutch. he was defending himself.
yep u said it
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR FOR THESE PLAIN STUPID JUDGEMENTS?? NATIONS GO TO WAR FOR LESS PROVOCATION THEN DUTCH PUT UP WITH FROM THAT WOMAN...(WHERE DOES ANYONE GET OFF BEATING SOMEONE ELSES DOG (ANIMAL) ??? HOW WAS SHE PUNISHED ?? RECCENTLY IN THE NEWS, THE POLICE "SURPRISE, SURPRISE" WERE OBSERVED BEATING UP ON A TEENAGER JUST FOR LOOKING AT THEM IN A WAY THEY DISAPPROVE OFF..WHAT DID THEY GET??? ZICH. ACCORDING TO THIS JUDGEMENT THEY SHOULD FACE THE DEATH PENALTY!!!! OH ! SORRY JUDGES, I FGORGOT, DUTCH IS JUST A DOG?! SO DESERVES HARSH AND UN-EQUAL PUNISHMENT. DON'T KNOW HOW YOU (JUDGES) SLEEP AT NIGHT. WHAT WE NEED NOW, I BELIEVE IS, A PANEL OF LAY CITIZENS TO EVALUATE/ OVERSEE JUDGEMENTS MADE BY THE JUDICIARY/JUDGES... MURDERERS/RAPISTS GET OFF SCOT FREE, BUT A POOR DOG DEFENDING HIMSELF, SENTENCED TO DEATH...HOW IS THIS JUSTIFIED? ESPECIALLY SINCE THE DOG HAS PROVEN TO BE GENTLE AND WELL BEHAVED EVEN UNDER PAINFUL EXAMINATIN BY THE VET. THIS SYSTEM NEEDS LOOKING ATRIGHTNOW. IT'S ROTTEN, NOT JUST BROKEN.
very sad
I signed the petition but noticed in the article that there was a date of Feb 14 for him to be turned over to animal control. It would be nice to have an update on Dutch to know where things stand NOW for him!?!? I would really hate to see something happen to this dog when he was only reacting to someone that he felt had been AGGRESSIVE TO HIM....not the other way around!
Signed! Poor dogs, why must they always suffer for man's cruelty.
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