By Greg Forester, Staff Writer
Congo’s life has been spared.
A settlement reached late Thursday afternoon in the case of the German shepherd that mauled a landscaper working on the property of a Princeton Township family on June 5 means the dog will not be euthanized, as originally ruled by a Princeton Township judge.
”Our goal in this case, as it is in every case, is to do what is in the best interest of justice and community safety,” said Casey DeBlasio spokeswoman for the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office. “In particular, our objective was to ensure that the community is protected from vicious or potentially dangerous dogs. We believe that the settlement achieves that purpose.”
The settlement was reached between the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office and an attorney for Congo’s owners, Elizabeth and Guy James. It says that in return for his life, Congo and four other dogs involved in the attack will have to abide by a lengthy set of rules.
”The parties agree that the settlement strikes the appropriate balance between the interests of the James family, the State, and the public in general,” wrote the James’ attorney, Robert Lytle, of the guidelines of the settlement, in a released statement.
The agreement means Ms. James will have to plead guilty to a Princeton Township municipal ordinance that prohibits a person from allowing their dog to “threaten, menace, bite or molest any person.” That guilty plea will result in a $250 fine, or $50 per dog, according to the settlement.
The James family will have to maintain signage on their property, warning passers-by and visitors about potentially dangerous dogs, and maintain existing fencing around their property.
All of the dogs will have to be muzzled and tethered when taken out of the property’s enclosure, the settlement reads.
In the event of the escape of any of the dogs, or the injury of a person, or the death or sale of any of the dogs, the James family will have to inform the township’s animal control officer.
The settlement also spares the James family from having to obtain a costly “potentially dangerous” dog license, getting special red identification tags for the dogs, or having the dogs tattooed in a prominent place with a registration number.
An appeal of an earlier municipal court decision was set to begin today in Mercer County Superior Court, but the settlement reached Thursday afternoon canceled the need for today’s appeal hearing.
In the earlier decision, a Princeton Township municipal court judge ruled that Congo be labeled “vicious,” and ordered the dog to be euthanized. According to that decision, the other four dogs present at the time of the attack on landscaper Giovanni Rivera would be labeled “potentially dangerous.”
The appeal — brought by attorney Robert Lytle on behalf of Congo and Ms. and Mr. James — argued that Mr. Rivera unintentionally provoked the attack through his actions on that June day last year.
Mr. Rivera had arrived at the James’ Princeton Township home to do landscaping work, and entered the back yard of the residence ahead of schedule, where a group of German shepherds including Congo were located.
It was disputed if Mr. Rivera caused Ms. James to fall to the ground, which preceded the attack by the German shepherds.
Superior Court Judge Michael Ostrer stayed the earlier ruling — made by Princeton Township Municipal Court Judge Russel Annich Jr. — allowing Congo to return home to the James family, and delaying any potential labeling of the other four dogs as “potentially dangerous.”
A dog is not to be declared vicious, according to state law, when provoked into a violent attack, but that same legal language requires a municipality to prove that the dog was not provoked into attacking before handing out a “vicious” label to the animal.
