Family files lawsuit to prevent pit bull who bit deputy from being euthanized

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The owner of a pit bull in Cole County has filed a lawsuit to prevent the county from euthanizing it.

Keith Nilges filed a lawsuit on Monday against Andrea Putnam, an animal control officer with the Cole County Sheriff’s Office. ABC 17 News reached out to the sheriff’s office and Sheriff John Wheeler said the department does not comment on potential litigation.

The petition says the family lives in rural Cole County and one of its dogs, a pit bull named Scooby, bit a deputy on June 27 when the deputy arrived to their property while the family was not home.

Court documents say the home and the dog were inside an electric fence and that signs around the area warn dogs are on the property.

The deputy was treated at an emergency room after Scooby bit their forearm, and the bite was determined to be a “Level 4 bite,” court documents say. The dog was impounded and eventually released back to the family on July 1, the petition says.

When the dog was being removed from the home, it allegedly had to be forced to leave the fenced in area “because he has been rigorously trained to adhere to that fence line,” the petition claims.

On July 2, the family received a letter signed by Putnam stating the dog was determined to be dangerous and was ordered to be euthanized within 10 days, court documents say. The petition says this was the third time the dog had bitten someone.

“The other two incidents referenced in Officer Putnam’s report involved individuals arriving at the property without advanced notice and approaching the property while neither Petitioner nor any family member were present,” court documents say.

A summons was issued for Putnam on Tuesday.