SALT LAKE CITY — A deal has been reached that will spare the life of a dog ordered put to death after he bit a 12-year-old girl in a case that generated criticism from the Humane Society of Utah.
Lindsy Bray, the owner of the Australian shepherd named Dexter, agreed Thursday to pay a $145 fine for dog-at-large and dog licensing violations. A judge had imposed the original death sentence for the dog.
In return for Bray’s payment, officials in the small city of Santaquin dropped the dog-attack charge filed after Dexter escaped a fenced yard in October 2016 and nipped a girl. Though the bite broke no skin, city regulations state that any animal that has bitten, clawed, chased or harassed a person must be put down within five days.
The Humane Society joined Bray in criticizing the penalty imposed on Dexter, saying it was the 5-year-old dog’s first offense and that the rule is so broad that a dog jogging with its owner could be considered vicious if it was following the owner.
