Maine governor pardons Dakota the Dog, who had been sentenced to death

Dakota the Dog, who was scheduled to be euthanized after killing a small dog in 2016 and injuring another earlier this year, has been given a reprieve by Maine Gov. Paul LePage.

LePage announced a “full and free pardon” Thursday.

“I have reviewed the facts of this case and I believe the dog ought to be provided a full and free pardon,” LePage said.

Dakota, a 4-year-old husky, was ordered to be euthanized earlier this month. Dakota killed a small dog in 2016. The dog was ordered to be permanently confined and muzzled when it was on a leash, according to CentralMaine.com. But Dakota got out in January and attacked another dog, according to Bangor Daily News.

Dakota is “extremely dangerous,” said Kennebec County District Attorney Maeghan Maloney, who told the Bangor Daily News that the governor has “only heard from one side and hearing the victim’s story, it is chilling.”

Dakota was placed at the Waterville Area Humane Society, which made LePage aware of the situation in a letter.

“We have found her to be an excellent dog, extremely people friendly, and generally dog friendly,” Lisa Smith, director of the Humane Society Waterville Area, wrote in the letter.

Dakota was adopted by the mother-in-law of its first owner, according to the Bangor Daily News. The new owner, Linda Janeski, was not aware of court proceedings involving the dog and its first owner, according to the governor.

Janeski said the dog had been trained to kill rats by someone Dakota had been staying with.

“There’s not a vicious bone in that dog’s body,” Janeski told CentralMaine.com.

A court hearing on Dakota is expected Friday in August District Court.

It is not clear if LePage has the power to pardon the dog, though the state constitution does give wide latitude, a professor at the University of Maine School of Law in Portland told the Bangor Daily News.

Maloney told CenterMaine.com that “it will be up to the court to interpret that language and to determine what that means in relation to this case.”

This story was originally published March 30, 2017 at 3:39 PM with the headline "Maine governor pardons Dakota the Dog, who had been sentenced to death."