Peruvian Rottweiler that attacked and killed thief was declared innocent

[lagr01]

Rottweiler watchdog kills presumed car thief in parking lot

Since last Tuesday "Lay Fung" sits behind bars. He is accused of causing the death of a man entering a parking lot he was ordered to guard. His future remains up in the air. Some think that he should be put to death, others maintain the Rottweiler dog was just doing his job. A judge will have to decide his destiny within the next days. In the meantime he remains in his narrow A-46 cell at an anti-rabies center in Chacra Ríos.

The 4-year old Rottweiler is currently undergoing medical tests to determine if he has rabies. If the tests turn out positive, it will be his sure death sentence. In either case, the director of the dog center Mónica Villanueva said that he will be injected with a supersaturated toxic which will keep him asleep.

Many legal experts believe that the law protects the animal in these cases, therefore it is unlikely that Lay Fung is executed. Although the Peruvian law dictates that all dogs who kill or injure people or other animals must be sacrificed, there is also the exception from the rule: different measures apply when dogs are defending their owners or private property.

“The dog was trained to watch and acted by attacking the intruder, therefore he doesn't have to be sacrificed, so says the law”, maintains Lyda Piaggio Ruiz, president of the Association of Animal Protection, adding that the dogs are just doing what they are trained to do by their master.

However, that would mean that future of the dog's owner Fernando Llanos Mejía is uncertain. He could be charged with homicide or manslaughter according to the Penal Code. In cases like this the owner is held criminally responsible for attack and caused damage. In Peruvian times like this in which citizen insecurity is a major concern and crime rates are high, this risk exists for many people resorting to dogs to protect their houses or business premises.

According to criminal attorney Mario Amoretti, who created an analysis of the Penal Code's related articles, an owner can be accused of intentional homicide if he trained his animals to kill. If a dangerous dog guards a property and the owner neglected to put up a visible warning sign, he can be charged with second degree homicide.

“Dog owners definitely must take all necessary precautions to avoid the risks of attacks; if he doesn't he can be held criminally responsible”, he warned.

Every night Lay Fung guarded the parked cars at Avenida Abancay where the deadly incident happened. His fate has created much sympathy among the public. In a survey conducted on "El Comercio's" website, of a total of 3,505 participants 87.87% thought that the dog should be spared the death penalty, only 10.96% requested that he should receive the lethal injection. Of those in the dog's favor, 1,440 requested that he should be given back to his owner, whereas 1,640 suggested he should be integrated in a Police Canine squad.

Among those who responded in an online forum, many believe Lay Fung is a dog "hero" and inquired about adopting him.

Latest update:
Since Saturday the dog is legally represented by lawyer Juan Aragón Villena. He is investigating the case and tries to prevent that the dog is put to death. Lay Fun was transferred to Huacho yesterday where he will receive the necessary attention until the police investigation is completed. The lawyer also clarified that Lay Fung was bred by the parking lot's security personnel.
The chief of the Police' Homicide Division, colonel Leonardo Morales Naupari, said that the Rottweiler was originally trained by the Canine Police Division but couldn't tell in what year.
Police is still trying to figure out if the guard send the dog to attack or if the animal smelled, located and attacked the victim all by itself.

The victim was identified as Wilson Paredes Quispe, a known drug user who spent much of his life in and out of prison on robbery convictions. His last release from Lurigancho penitentiary came last year.

Living in Peru » News » Rottweiler watchdog kills presumed car thief in parking lot

And here's the outcome:

Lima's most famous animal of the last days, a Rottweiler named "Lay Fung", left his prison cell at the "anti-rabies" center as a free dog.
The trained watchdog became the center of attention days ago after biting a presumed car thief to death while safe-guarding a parking lot. He will now join the K-9 division of the National Police.

According to RPP Noticias, Lay Fung seemed somewhat disturbed by the applause he received from a group of animal lovers and supporters waiting outside the center where he spend 10 days in quarantine

Living in Peru » News » Rottweiler "Lay Fung" regains his freedom

[Cherry Heart]

I am torn. I know watch dogs are sapose to keep the premisis safe, but to kill someone seems over the top. I thought they just kinda held them down or chased them off till the owner got there, but I don't really like the idea of guard dogs to begin with.

It also seems odd that this dog will be joining the police. If the dog was said to be innocent, shouldn't he have gone back to his owner so he could continue to protect as he did before?

[lagr01]

Yes, I understand what you mean. I think it most be horrific for a person to find a dead corpse on their property.

I read an article with more details than this one (in spanish) and it seems the dog bit the guy on the leg hard and cut the femoral artery and the guy bled to death. So I guess it was bad luck, at least for the guy that got bit. He also had a chain in his hand when they found his body, so he probably attacked the dog and made things worst since the dog didn't back out and maybe got more angry. It also said the dog was protection trained (don't know how well trained though), so it wasn't the typical junkyard vicious dog.

Like a month later, at the same city, a woman found a guy trespassing in her home and she sent her Rottie to get him. After bitting him the dog held him while she called the police. The thief ended up with deep cuts on his arm but nothing really serious.

I'm affraid these incidents will make Rotties more popular over there and a bunch of people will end up raising vicious untrained dogs in their homes.

I don't know what Peruvian laws say about dogs that attack people, but it doesn't make much sense to me either that the dog didn't get to stay with his owners.

[Diane Heller-Vaccaro]

I'd rather find a dead corpse on my property than my car missing or worse me being the dead corpse on my property.

If this is the result for a dog that is protecting his property, then they need to ban people from keeping dogs as "guard dogs" PERIOD. You can't punish a one for doing their job.

As far as rabies testing, I thought there was only one test for that and you couldn't be alive while the test was being conducted.?

[lagr01]

Originally Posted by Diane Heller-Vaccaro

I'd rather find a dead corpse on my property than my car missing or worse me being the dead corpse on my property.

If this is the result for a dog that is protecting his property, then they need to ban people from keeping dogs as "guard dogs" PERIOD. You can't punish a one for doing their job.

As far as rabies testing, I thought there was only one test for that and you couldn't be alive while the test was being conducted.?

I definitely wouldn't feel guilty about it, but still is not something I'd wish to happen.

A dog doing what it was trained for is completely innocent, and although I'm not thrilled anytime I hear about some criminal getting killed, I'd be a hypocrite if I said I'm very sorry about it. People have the right to protect themselves and their belongings, specially if the state is inept in protecting them.

What worries me about these kind of incidents is that, although both dogs were trained and had the nerves required to do their job, most people will think that they'll be alright by just buying a Rottweiler pup, putting it in their backyards without any kind of training and socialization and expect them to be their companions and protectors.

[fostermom]

To determine if a dog has rabies, it can either be killed and it's brain tested OR it can be quaranteened to see if it develops the disease...fortunately for the dog, it was quaranteened. Since the first article indicated the owner might be held responsible legally for training his dog to kill, perhaps there was some kind of "plea deal" whereby he would not be charged if the dog was turned over to the police.
I lived in Peru for a couple of years and MANY people keep dogs for protection. The haucienta I stayed at had large metal bars to keep people out AND a very large gsd who reacted aggressively to the indigenous Indian population. I think it's all very sad.

[TR Young]

If someone trespasses with intent to steal or do bodily harm, I say they are taking their own chances, whether it is with a landowner who is trained in firearms marksmanship, or it is a guard dog. Bottom line, don't decide to steal or worse from another human being.

[Danny T]

The dog did it's job, who can blame the dog? Who knows if it was just a thief, the so called thief could've been a murderer.

[Paulos]

Every once in a while government does what is right...this is an example of one such instance. If you want to rob, terrorize, and even murder someone...be prepared to die as well. Good Rotty boy!