Dangerous dogs get reprieve as case between owners, Town of Garner plays out

A Wake County judge on Thursday put on hold the Town of Garner's plans to put down a pair of dogs that killed a 7-year-old child and injured her mother.

Posted 3:19 p.m. Jul 1, 2021 — Updated 8:57 p.m. Jul 1, 2021

Amanda Lamb

, WRAL reporter

GARNER, N.C. — Wake County Superior Court Judge Becky Holt on Thursday put on hold the Town of Garner's plans to put down a pair of dogs that killed a 7-year-old child and injured her mother.

The dogs – Athena, 3, and Blitzen, 8 – have been in the custody of the Wake County Animal Center since the April 27 attack. Owners Joseph and Amanda White went to court to seek a temporary restraining order to keep the dogs alive while they make their case for the dogs' return to their care. Thursday's ruling means they have until July 8.

Jayden Henderson was killed by dogs, and her mother, Heather Trevaskis, was injured. The pair were playing with the dogs while the owners, their then-neighbors, were out of town. The Town of Garner deemed the dogs dangerous and denied the owners, Joseph and Amanda White, a dangerous dog permit that would have allowed them to keep the animals.

“We believe that the Whites are entitled to have their dogs back. These were service animals to them and emotional support animals. All we're asking today is that the dogs not be euthanized pending this case," the Whites' attorney, John Kirby, said. "Once the dogs are euthanized, that can't be undone. That harm cannot be undone.”

The attorney for the Town of Garner, Terri Jones, countered, “Notwithstanding their deep attachment to the dogs, these dogs viciously attacked and killed a child and also mauled her mother. And there is no safe way to release the dogs back into the public.”

At the next hearing on the case, next Thursday, Jayden's parents, Trevaskis and Dave Henderson, will also have a say. Their attorneys filed a "motion to intervene" in the case between the Whites and the town that will ultimately determine whether the dogs live or die.

Both Trevaskis and Henderson filed affidavits that describe in detail the attack and is aftermath from their point of view.

Both wrote, "These dogs are killers. The untrue things that the Whites have asserted about us when communicating with the Town and in the lawsuit filed on Tuesday has been very difficult to understand. The possibility that the dogs could be released/freed and returned to the Whites, through litigation or a decision from the Town, is deeply upsetting."

Trevaskis is a master control operator for WRAL-TV.

In their suit against the town, the Whites allege that Trevaskis and Jayden didn't have permission to play with the dogs. It states they "advised Mr. Henderson that out of an abundance of caution, no children were to play with the dogs during this time" and "Neither Heather nor Jayden had played with the dogs prior to the Plaintiffs' trip."

Henderson directly contradicts that in his affidavit, writing, "Joe White asked me whether my family and I would be willing to play with the dogs and throw the ball for the dogs in the Whites’ fenced-in backyard during the daytime throughout the Whites’ vacation. I told Joe White I would be glad to do this. Joe White never told me that no children were allowed to play with the dogs during this time, and I never agreed to any such instruction, as no such instruction was given."

Trevaskis shared a text exchange with WRAL News that shows photos of Jayden playing with one of the dogs and Amanda White replying, "Thank you guys for playing with them."

The Whites moved to Franklin County in June, and they are asking that, after a trial, the dogs be returned to them.

In the lawsuit, they claim to "have spoken with municipal officials in Franklin County regarding relocating the dogs to Franklin County, and the Franklin County officials have informed the Plaintiffs that this can be done and does not violate any ordinances or laws in Franklin County, providing that the Plaintiffs have an appropriate enclosure for the dogs, and that the dogs not leave this enclosure."

Boyd Sturges, Franklin County attorney, told WRAL News that the Whites did consult the county, but there is no agreement.

"We told them that we were not going to be cooperating, that we were, of course, going to afford them their due process rights, and we were going to follow the letter of the law as to the ordinance and state law as to dangerous dogs, but our position has been and remains that these are dangerous dogs, and we are certainly not going to encourage dangerous dogs to come into our county if we have any legal recourse to stop it,” he said.

The Franklin County ordinance requires the Whites to put the dogs in a shelter until it could be determined if they meet the requirements of local law.

"We don’t want dangerous dogs in our county," Sturges said. "We are following it quite closely and taking it quite seriously."