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Owners sue for return of dogs that killed child, injured 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 are seeking a temporary restraining order to keep the dogs alive while they make their case for the dogs' return to their care.

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By
Amanda Lamb
, WRAL reporter
GARNER, N.C. — The owners of a pair of dogs that killed a child and badly injured her mother filed suit Tuesday to get the dogs released from quarantine and the threat of euthanasia.

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 are seeking a temporary restraining order to keep the dogs alive while they make their case for the dogs' return to their care.

A judge will hear their arguments on Thursday at 10 a.m.

The Whites were on vacation when their neighbor, Heather Trevaskis, and her 7-year old daughter, Jayden Belle Henderson, were attacked while playing with the dogs in their fenced yard. Trevaskis is a master control operator at WRAL-TV.

The Whites allege in the lawsuit that Trevaskis and Jayden did not have permission to be on their property and had never played with dogs, both of which are described in the lawsuit as part American Staffordshire terrier, a breed related to the pit bull. The suit says that Trevaskis got access to the Whites' property from her husband, who was authorized to play with the dogs, and that she let Jayden play with the dogs "unattended by any adults."

In a statement, Trevaskis and her husband, Dave Henderson, said, "We can’t even begin to list all of the false accusations in this document. We are working on how to respond to each falsification, and we are confident the truth will come out."

Trevaskis previously 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."

After the attack, the dogs were taken into custody and declared "dangerous" by the Town of Garner, a description that the Whites challenge in their lawsuit.

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

"The Town of Garner has no right to maintain possession of the Plaintiffs' dogs," the lawsuit says. "The Town of Garner is threatening to euthanize (i.e. kill) the Plaintiffs' support animals, and is

refusing to return them to the Plaintiffs, even though the Plaintiffs have moved from Garner.

"The Plaintiffs simply seek the return of their dogs from the Town of Garner, which has no right to keep and/or euthanize the Plaintiffs' dogs."

Before their move, the Whites agreed to meet the terms of Garner's dangerous dogs permit process, which require that owners:
  • build a secure enclosure for the dogs;
  • have microchips implanted in the dogs designating them as dangerous;
  • pay a $500 dangerous dog permit fee;
  • keep the dogs muzzled and leashed whenever they are outside;
  • make sure the dogs are always under the control of a responsible adult
  • license the dogs through the Town of Garner; and
  • provide a certificate of insurance.

The Whites wrote, in the application for a dangerous dog permit, "This is out of nature for either dog to have hurt a human being."

That permit was denied despite the fact that, the lawsuit claims, "Town officials were entirely clear and unequivocal that the Plaintiffs had a right to a permit to keep their dogs, on the condition that the Plaintiffs met the requirements for a permit."

The Whites moved to Franklin County in June, and, according to the suit, "have made plans to erect a structure on their property ... that will comply with all Franklin County rules."

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."

The Whites are claiming that the Town of Garner violated their rights in taking possession of the dogs and in denying their permit and any chance for appeal. They are seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent the planned euthanization of the dogs on or after Saturday.

They are also asking the court to order the dogs be returned to them pending the resolution of their suit.

The Whites claim the animals are service animals, and the lawsuit notes that Blizten "received PTSD training." Joseph White, a Marine Corps veteran, suffers post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of his military service, the suit says.

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