CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, VA (WTVR) – Thursday night at the Chesterfield County Animal Shelter, more than a dozen people and theirdogs gathered to protest the death of an American Bulldog/Pitbull mix named “Polar”.
They didn’t use signs, but lit candles and prayed.
Polar was turned over to animal control by its owners after it bit a 6-month-old boy in the neck inside a house on Overridge Drive last week in Chesterfield.
The child died of his injuries.
Investigators say the boy was playing in one room and the family and friends not too far away when the incident occurred.
Cathy Saye with DeafPaws Rescue says Polar is deaf, and came from an abusive home in Atlanta. She says she fostered Polar and said he never showed signs of aggression towards other people, including children.
Donna Armstrong who organized Thursday’s vigil, and has set up a Facebook page called “Save Polar” with more than 600 supporters has a deaf dog of her own, the same breed as Polar.
She believes Polar meant no harm saying these dogs are “nanny”dogs.
“The only thing that dog was guilty of is picking up the child which was left unattended into the room where the parents were. The way they do that is pick them up by the neck [scruff], and that’s what happened,” said Armstrong.
Mac Adams, who also attended the vigil, is a father of five children.
We asked him what he would say to the parents of the dead child while trying to save Polar’s life.
“My heart could not ached more for you, but why complicate the matter further by putting the dog down,” he responded.
Others believe the dog has to go.
“You can always get another dog, but you can’t get that baby back,” said Chesterfield resident Willie Mae Reid.
“There is a dead child involved, retribution for the family should be sought, I suppose,” said parent Tracy Edge.
Polar’s fate is in the hands of Chesterfield County Police investigating the case.
