Dog Involved In The Viral ‘Cat Rescues Boy Video’ Is Euthanized
The infamous dog that attacked a 4-year-old boy in a viral video has been euthanized, reports The Bakersfield Californian. The surveillance camera video of the dog attacking the child and the boy’s pet cat coming to the resue was released two weeks ago turning the cat, Tara, into an immediate celebrity. The 4-year-old victim, later identified as southwest Bakersfield resident Jeremy Triantafilo, was attacked by the dog on May 13 near Jeremy’s own driveway. Seconds after the dog attacked, Jeremy’s pet cat sensed danger and jumped right in, chasing the dog away.
The dog, which according to officials was an 8-month-old Labrador-Chow mix, was in the custody of the City of Bakersfield Animal Care Center since May 13 where it was placed in a mandatory 10-day quarantine to check if it had rabies. After the 10 day period ended, its owner authorized the Animal Care center to euthanize it. According to Animal Care Center Director Julie Johnson, the dog was “humanely euthanized over the weekend”.
Since rumors regarding the possible euthanization of the dog was around since last week, there have been at least three online petitions that had emerged online asking authorities to save the dog. These petitions had received thousands of signatures from animal and dog lovers from around the world. While there were plans to block the dog’s euthanization by filing a civil case in the Kern County Superior Court, it didn’t materialize.
After news of the euthanization was released, the animal shelter says it has started receiving irate calls and emails from people who wanted to save the dog or wanted it to be saved. “You people are a disgrace. You’re cowards,” are examples of the kinds of names the animal shelter employees were called.
“We’re getting called names. I don’t get it. We did what the family requested we do. The owner signed over this dog specifically for euthanization after the quarantine period,” Julie says.
The video that showcased Tara’s incredible reaction to the dog attack was an immediate hit and Tara the cat soon earned worldwide fame. In fact, recently, Tara became the first and the only cat in the world to have the distinction of throwing the first pitch in a Baseball match. Jeremy received 10 stitches to his left leg and has since then made a quick recovery.
Do you think, the authorities showed extreme haste in getting the dog involved in the mishap euthanized? After all, it was just an 8-month-old puppy that could have been trained or adopted by someone who could handle it? Also, do you think the owners of the dog should have been held equally responsible for the incident?
[Image via Afranko]
