Maui dog that mauled
woman to be euthanized

Answer: Attorney Anthony Ranken, who represents the pit bull terrier's owner, said an agreement has been reached to turn over legal possession of Faust to the Maui Humane Society, in exchange for the group waiving the imposition of any fees, including attorney and court costs.

Society Executive Director Jocelyn Bouchard said that once she receives the signed agreement, the 5-year-old dog will be euthanized by injection.

Ranken said the owner, Scot Barrie, cannot afford to keep the dog at home under the conditions imposed by the Maui County Animal Control Board.

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

"It's very costly to keep the dog under those conditions. He's not equipped to do it," Ranken said.

Faust has been held in a kennel at the society's animal shelter since Dec. 3, when an animal control inspector seized the dog after Barrie allegedly left a window in the house open and failed to comply with the board's confinement order.

The Society asked in January for Maui District Judge Douglas Ige to issue an order to have the dog destroyed.

But Ige asked the society's attorney David Cain to provide more documents, including affidavits substantiating that the dog was a danger to the public, Bouchard said.

Bouchard estimated the Society spent between $1,665 and $2,220 to house the dog and would have paid $7,000 in attorney's fees had Cain not volunteered his services.

The woman who was mauled by the pit bull has filed a lawsuit against Barrie.