Jayden Henderson was a beautiful, spunky, and intelligent 7 year old girl who died on April 27th, 2021 in Garner, NC after injuries sustaining a dog attack, where two dogs had mauled her to death, unprovoked, and temporarily paralyzed her mother’s arms as she was attempting to save her daughter’s life. 

Since Jayden’s death, the dog owners have been fighting to get the two dogs back. They have applied for a dangerous dog permit in Garner, NC, which was fought back by the Garner community residents, causing their petition to be denied. They have since moved to Franklin County in another attempt to apply for a dangerous dog permit. (The dogs were finally euthanized September 12th, 2021)

NC Senate Bill 994 implies that after a dog is seized due to a serious attack, the owner can apply for a “dangerous dog permit.” This permit does not stop at just biting, but dogs that have killed a human also have an opportunity to come home under restrictions and specific instructions. This is the first case that anyone has seen in North Carolina where owner’s have applied for this permit to get their dogs back after they’ve murdered a human outside of self defense. 

This bill is stating that a vicious dog’s life can be placed at a higher value than an innocent human’s. 

My goal is to get this law changed to only allow dogs with non-life threatening bite cases or self defense cases to receive this permit, and dogs that have killed a human without provocation to be immediately euthanized. 

North Carolina should be a safe place for everyone. No one deserves to be put at a lower life value than a violent and murderous dog. Our community deserves better. Jayden deserves better. Together we are stronger, and can make a change in our state to never allow a situation like this to occur again. 

Thank you for your support.