Wizard, a 1-year-old husky mix from Iditarod musher Jake Berkowitz's kennel that attacked a 2-year-old last month, will not be euthanized -- at least for now.
The Mat-Su Animal Control Board remained deadlocked over whether to go along with the recommendation from its chief officer that Wizard is a level five dog -- a dangerous animal that should be put down. Without a majority vote from the panel, the dog cannot be euthanized immediately. Two other board members who could have broken the deadlock were unavailable for the Monday hearing, according to Chairman John Wood.
The stalemate was unchanged from last week's five-hour hearing over the dog and its May 10 attack that nearly killed 2-year-old Elin Shuck. Shuck was visiting Berkowitz's dog lot with her mother and two young siblings when she was mauled. Wizard has been at the shelter ever since the attack and will remain there while animal control re-evaluates him.
Jennifer Sundquist, Shuck's mother, said last week that her daughter is recovering at home and has suffered permanent paralysis to one of her vocal chords, damage to her ear, and severe trauma to two major arteries in her neck. Board members said they had a difficult time deciding on the legal merits of the Berkowitz request that Wizard be allowed to live.
"If the dog were to be euthanized, the child would not be un-bitten," said Rhonda Weinrick, a member of the Animal Control Board.
Few seemed pleased with Monday's outcome. Sundquist, who was visibly upset at times, sat in the back of the small room at the Palmer shelter. Robin Berkowitz, Jake's wife and former nanny to the Shuck family, sat near the front. Attorneys for the Mat-Su Borough dotted the room.
After the board's announcement that Wizard could not be classified a level-five dog because of the deadlock, Berkowitz quickly left the shelter. Sundquist huddled in a back room with Mat-Su Borough attorneys. The borough, which wants Wizard euthanized, has 30 days to appeal the board's ruling. Lisa Richard, assistant borough attorney, says she does not believe it will take that long to decide whether to take the matter to Alaska Superior Court.
If it doesn't, Wizard could eventually be re-united with the Berkowitzs, although likely with some conditions, including a requirement that a dangerous-dog sign be posted and a six-sided enclosure be built to contain the dog. But Wizard's ultimate fate remained uncertain, even for animal control officers.
"This so seldom happens where we adjudicate a dog's fate. Usually the owner surrenders the dog long before it gets this far, so I have to check the regulations," Hartwig said.
Dissention amongst the board members was evident Monday, as it had been June 19 after the marathon hearing over the dog's fate. In the end, the board remained spilt 2-2 over whether the dog should be put down or not.
Everyone agrees the attack on Elin Shuck was horrific.
"I would say Wizard is a rogue animal, 100 percent concentrated on the kill," said board chairman Wood, a longtime musher who voted to put Wizard down. He believes, if given the chance, Wizard would again attack a child.
Wood also said he believes Elin's mother made a poor choice to bring her young children with her into the dog yard that day.
"Why she chose not to place her children in her van while she moved her dog is beyond me," Wood said.
Others on the board said they do not think Sundquist should be blamed.
"It is a sad case, a difficult case, but we shouldn't blame the mother," said Weinrick, who voted against euthanasia because she believes Wizard was provoked by the child's presence in the lot and because the presence of the young children there that day constituted trespassing.
Who is to blame for the attack will likely be decided in court. Both the Berkowitz and Shuck families -- once quite close -- have hired lawyers for a potential civil suit.
Contact Sean Doogan at sean(at)alaskadispatch.com