Dogs that killed 7-year-old will be put down
By Amanda Lamb
Click here for updates on this story
GARNER North Carolina (WRAL) — Wake County Superior Court Judge Vince Rozier on Friday handed the decision on the fate of two dogs that killed a child back to the Town of Garner, where the April attack happened.
“There is a common-sense solution,” Rozier said, “What Garner decides, I have no discretion over.”
Minutes later, Garner Chief of Police Joe Binns told WRAL News the animals would be euthanized on Monday.
The dogs, Athena, 3, and Blitzen, 8, have been in quarantine since the attack that killed 7-year-old Jayden Henderson and injured her mother, Heather Trevaskis. The mother and daughter were visiting the dogs while their neighbors, Joseph and Amanda White, were on vacation in California.
LOCAL NEWS Dogs that killed Garner 7-year-old will be put down Tags: dog attack Posted September 10, 2021 11:22 a.m. EDT Updated September 10, 2021 12:46 p.m. EDT
By Amanda Lamb, WRAL reporter
GARNER, N.C. — Wake County Superior Court Judge Vince Rozier on Friday handed the decision on the fate of two dogs that killed a child back to the Town of Garner, where the April attack happened.
“There is a common-sense solution,” Rozier said, “What Garner decides, I have no discretion over.”
Minutes later, Garner Chief of Police Joe Binns told WRAL News the animals would be euthanized on Monday.
ADVERTISING
The dogs, Athena, 3, and Blitzen, 8, have been in quarantine since the attack that killed 7-year-old Jayden Henderson and injured her mother, Heather Trevaskis. The mother and daughter were visiting the dogs while their neighbors, Joseph and Amanda White, were on vacation in California.
Mother injured, child killed in dog attack were members of WRAL family Child killed in Garner dog attack was daughter of WRAL-TV employee After the attack, the Town of Garner deemed the dogs dangerous and denied the owners a dangerous dog permit that would have allowed them to keep the animals.
Joseph White argued in a 53-minute YouTube video and his attorneys argued in Friday’s hearing that the town no longer had jurisdiction over the dogs – the Whites moved from Garner after the attack – and that town leaders did not follow their own dangerous dog ordinance in keeping the dogs in quarantine.
“They did everything they were supposed to do,” the Whites’ attorney, John Kirby, said. “The town had no right to deny the permit.”
The Garner ordinance requires that owners of dogs deemed dangerous:
-keep them in a secure enclosure; -pay a $500 dangerous dog permit fee; -and make sure the dogs are always under the control of a responsible adult.
Paul Gessner, representing the Town of Garner, said, “The town has not been unreasonable, [and] has acted appropriately under the law. … The town followed the legal guidelines in the ordinance.”
Rozier, though, said the case was about one thing: Jayden Henderson.
“This has gone farther than it should have,” he said. “To the parents, I’m sorry you’ve had to endure this.”
After the hearing, Trevaskis expressed gratitude for the decision.
Supporters of Jayden’s family have launched two online petitions – to allow the dogs who killed her to be euthanized and to change North Carolina’s dangerous dog laws.
Joseph White declined an opportunity to speak to WRAL News. He has criticized WRAL’s coverage of the attack and the aftermath because Trevaskis is a WRAL employee.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
