Bones Saved From Execution

How We Won

Jan 07, 2012

When Shaun Dyer allegedly killed his roommate, his dog "Bones" was taken to the animal shelter. No one really knew what happened during the fatal argument, but since Bones was accused of being used by Dyer as a weapon, the dog's life was in danger. Once forensic evidence was collected for the murder case, people feared Bones would be killed.

Bones quickly gained support from Facebook fans and more than 1,000 people who signed a petition asking officials not to make him pay for his owner's behavior. A couple weeks after the petition was started, and three months after he was locked up, Bones was finally released to The Lexus Project, a nonprofit animal legal defense group that will place him with an animal behaviorist experienced in working with "troubled dogs."

Manhattan, NY: According to the New York Post, a dog named Bones was allegedly used as a weapon by his owner during a fatal argument last month between two roommates. Law enforcement sources state Bones is a sweet and well-behaved dog. Bones has been a prisoner at Animal Control facilities over a month as he awaits his fate depending on the outcome of the forensics report.

His owner pleaded not guilty in Manhattan Supreme Court as prosecutors announced they would be seeking forensic canine teeth impressions from the dog.

In addition to the blow to the head -- likely with a metal pipe - that killed him, the victim had bite marks on his body, prosecutor Coleen Balbert said in court. The terrified victim had managed to make a 911 call prior to his death, in which he told the operator that his roommate was making the dog attack. The body also had what appeared to be additional, week-old dog bites, Balbert said.

Officials believe Dyer may have used his dog as a weapon in a history of violent fights with the roommate. Bones was still at the scene after the murder -- a white dog smeared in so much blood that a cop asked the owner, "Is your dog normally that color…Why is he pinkish in color?" Bones was swabbed for blood after the incident, according to court documents. It is not clear when his dental impressions will be taken, and what his fate will be afterward.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/cute_pit_bull_murder_rap_tW0MyP26OUGSjXNXJ8LcsO#ixzz1fYAkYdnM

The group Hand4Paws plea for the life of Bones.The unscrupulous behavior of his past owner should not be an interpretation of the behavior of the dog. The dog cannot defend and speak for himself and be able to recount the event in which he was innocently involved. There is no true evidence of how events happened and there is conflicting testimony of the true temperament & behavior of Bones. Only a professional dog handler could determine if the dog is aggressive or not. There is more evidence that dogs can be rehabilitated than concrete evidence that the dog actually bit someone.

Image courtesy of: The New York Post

This petition will be updated as more information becomes available; however, the intent will remain the same.

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