Dangerous pit bull
gets a ‘second chance’

The humane society on Maui
disagrees with the ruling
that lets the dog live

CORRECTION Wednesday, January 12, 2005 » Scot Barrie owns the dog that attacked a Maui woman at his Pukalani home on Nov. 16. His first name was misspelled as Scott in a Page A3 story on Dec. 2 and a Page A4 story on Dec. 8. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at corrections@starbulletin.com.

WAILUKU » The Maui County Animal Control Board has granted a reprieve from the death penalty for a pit bull that mauled a Maui woman.

But Maui Humane Society's Animal Control Director Aimee Anderson said the board did not ask for the humane society's recommendation, which is to destroy the dog based on two reported incidents of attacks, the severity of attacks and the owner not knowing what caused the attacks.

"I think it is safe to say this dog poses a continuing threat to the public," Anderson said.

The animal control board yesterday determined the 5-year-old male dog named Faust to be a dangerous dog for attacking the woman at a Pukalani residence on Nov. 16 but allowed it to live with the owner under certain conditions of confinement and restraint.

Board member Chester Anderson said he was in favor of giving the dog a "second chance" and felt that "destroying a dog isn't a good thing."

Veterinarian William Cleghorn, another board member, said while Anderson mentioned a police report about a dog who appeared to be Faust biting another person on Nov. 5, there was no verification of it, and therefore it was difficult to prove the dog was a repeat offender. Anderson said she was unable to contact the person who alleged the dog bit him at the same address.

Sandra Sardinha, the victim of the Nov. 16 attack, who also wanted the dog destroyed, described to board members the bites to her scalp, right jaw, neck, chest, right arm and left forearm.

Sardinha was in the hospital for four days after the attack and had skin from her right ear grafted to her scalp to help cover the wound.

Sardinha, 46, said she went to the house in Pukalani to return a bag of clothes for a child at the residence who had visited her home.

The dog's owner, Scott Barrie, said he lives on the property with his family including two daughters and knew of no other attacks by Faust, other than the one on Sardinha.

Under the board's conditions, Faust must be either confined in the house or in a fenced kennel, and Barrie is required to obtain $50,000 in liability insurance in 10 days and have the dog neutered in 30 days.

The board also required that only a person 18 years or older may walk the dog and that Faust must be tethered to a 3-foot-long leash capable of withstanding 300 pounds of tension.

Anderson and the board warned that failure to meet the conditions could result in the forfeiture and destruction of the dog and potential criminal charges against Barrie.