Dog euthanized following attack on mail carrier; owner looking to sue

MIAMI (WSVN) -- Miami-Dade Animal Control put down a dog after it attacked a mail carrier Wednesday afternoon. Now the owner has hired a lawyer.

Coral Gables Hospital is treating 53-year-old Georgina Pacheco for what they described as severe injuries after the dog jumped on her, biting here hand and chest as she tried delivering the mail to a home the area of Southwest 36th Avenue and 24th Terrace on Wednesday afternoon. Police said the animal ran out of the home where she had planned to drop off the mail.

Omar Fernandez, the dog's owner disputed the notion that his 5-year-old pet, named Blue, is a vicious dog that needed to be euthanized. "I saw her yelling, the dog started walking towards her, wagging his tail, and she was going like this," Fernandez said as he clawed at the air, "and when I got there the dog was sitting down."

Miami Fire Rescue, police and animal services all appeared on the scene, which occurred within the property of the home and left a bloody trail on the sidewalk. "The attack appeared to have happened on the property and carried over into the sidewalk," said Miami Police Officer Jeff Giordano.

After an investigation on the scene and at the hospital, animal services confiscated the dog, which investigators called a dog, to be put down. Pitbulls happen to be illegal in Miami-Dade County. "The Dade County ordinance is pretty clear that you cannot maintain, purchase, harbor or have in your possession a pitbull in Dade County," said Giordano.

Fernandez describes his dog as a mix. He also said he didn't think his dog was on his way to his death when he relinquished custody to Animal Services and felt he was intimidated to hand him over. "I think it was wrong how they took me dog," he said after he arrived at Animal services with friends and supporters to get his dog back only to hear the dog had already been "put down."

Sean Gallagher, the Animal Control Investigator, who took the dog defended his department's actions. "I told him that once he surrendered the animal, it did become the property of Animal Services, and it was at the descretion of the director as to whether or not the animal would be euthanized," Gallagher said.

"I felt like they were kidnapping my dog, my son," Fernandez said.

Animal Services did say that if Fernandez had decided to wait and keep the dog, he had that option when they arrived at his house that afternoon. That would have left Animal Services the option to obtain a court order for the confiscation of the animal.

(Copyright 2009 by Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)