Alliance for Animals wants to save Igor. The 130-pound bull mastiff killed a small dog at the Middleton Dog Park last month, and a judge will soon determine if he should be put down. The Middleton City Council recently recommended that Igor, who has a history of biting people and other dogs, be euthanized.
But Lynn Pauly, head of the local Alliance for Animals, thinks Igor could be rehabilitated - if he was taken away from his owner, Gary Lohrke. Pauly says Lohrke recklessly allowed Igor to run free in the park: "The fact that they're going to punish the dog for the irresponsibility of his guardian bothers me."
One of the group's members has offered to pay for Igor's transportation to the Best Friends Sanctuary in Utah, the same facility that is rehabilitating 22 pit bulls seized from former NFL star Michael Vick. "They do wonders with them," says Pauly. "Those were fighting dogs."
Pauly is writing a letter to the judge and to Lohrke to ask if an agreement can be worked out. "I feel horrible for the dog that was killed," she says. "It just breaks my heart that Igor will have to pay for it."
