Animal activists and rescue groups in Dallas are scrambling to save a locally infamous dog from being put down this week. They say the dog shouldn't have to pay for what they believe are the sins of the owner.
On any given night in Deep Ellum, you could find a man named Sean and his sidekick a little dog he named Lamby. That's short for her full name. He calls her Lamb of God.
For months neighbors have been complaining about what they see as animal abuse. The dog, sometimes rolled around the city in a child's stroller, is often strapped in a milk crate on the front of a bicycle. Hats and sunglasses are rubber-banded to her head while she serves as a roadside attraction for her owner to panhandle for money.
"There's a saying that there are no bad dogs just bad owners. And that's really never been truer than in this situation," said Deep Ellum neighborhood activist Raine Devries.
"It is absolutely horrific that an animal has to pay the price for a horrible person," said Jessica Brodsky who says she has seen, and complained about, the man and his dog on multiple occasions.
Because here's what happened. During one of its "performances" the dog nipped at someone. Dallas Animal Services took custody of the dog, gave it vaccinations, had her spayed, and a rescue group says they were told they had a chance to adopt her.
But the owner payed the necessary fines and got the dog back. A short time later, as detailed in a police report, the duo was in the Bishop Arts area south of downtown Dallas and the owner reportedly told a family that their child could move in close to take a picture. Police records show that the dog bit the child in the face.
"If you were strapped inside a milk crate with no padding underneath your butt 20 hours a day with a rubber band around your muzzle, you might want to bite someone too," said Lee Jamison with the animal rescue group Awwdoptable, Inc.
"Well we have an order form the courts that the animal be humanely euthanized," said Edward Jamison the new director of Dallas Animal Services. He says his hands are tied, there are two biting incidents on record, and that he is required to abide by the court order and euthanize the dog later this week.
"We do everything we can to responsibly find home for animals but we're also not in the business of putting known dangerous animals back out in the public," Edward Jamison said. "At this point, again, we're operating on that court order."
And that's what he told local activists when he agreed to explain the situation to them this morning. They met for several minutes outside the Dallas Animal Services facility in West Dallas.
But those hoping to rescue Lamby are still searching for a last minute reprieve, maybe a legal change of heart.
"We have so many wonderful animal rescue groups and so I think that that they need to be utilized more before we hand a dog a death sentence," said Brodsky.
A death sentence due to be carried out unless the courts decide Lamby, the reluctant roadside attraction, deserves another chance.
Animal activists hope to save infamous Deep Ellum dog
For months neighbors have been complaining about what they see as animal abuse.