A German Shepherd that fatally mauled a puppy inside a Ponte Vedra Beach home last week has been returned to its owners after being classified as “aggressive” rather than “dangerous” by local animal control officials.
The decision has sparked outrage from the victim’s owner, Megan Caico, who says the outcome fails to deliver justice for her dog, a young Micro Bully that was killed in the incident.
According to Caico, she left her two dogs inside her home on Wednesday morning while running errands. Upon returning, she discovered two German Shepherds loose inside the residence, and found one of her puppies unresponsive and bloodied in her hallway.
“The male dog killed him,” Caico said. “He had the puppy’s fur all over his muzzle.”
The German Shepherds, male and female siblings, gained access to the property after a neighbor mistakenly let them into Caico’s latched backyard, assuming she was dog-sitting them, Caico said.
The dogs then entered the home through a back door that had been left ajar.
Following the attack, St. Johns County Animal Control took custody of the German Shepherds.
After reviewing the incident, the agency determined the male dog involved was “aggressive” but not “dangerous” under Florida law because Dagger doesn’t have a prior history of violent conduct.
“It was determined that the male, named Dagger, was the one who killed her dog,” Paul Studivant, deputy director of St. Johns County Animal Control, told The Citizen. “The state statute is very specific when it says that a dog has to have, on more than one occasion, severely injured or killed a domesticated animal in order to be deemed dangerous. This incident did not meet that criteria.”
As a result, Dagger was released to his owner, who will be required to neuter him, install a double-entry gate and muzzle him when he’s not home. The owner also must carry a $100,000 liability insurance policy, register the animal with the county and adhere to other restrictions. The owner has 14 days to comply with these conditions.
If Dagger stays out of trouble for three years, he will no longer be classified as an “aggressive” dog, Studivant said.
Dogs classified as “dangerous” face stricter penalties, including potential euthanasia. Caico said she believes the classification was too lenient, and that more severe action should have been taken.
“I think it’s outrageous,” she told The Citizen, saying she believes the dog should have been put down. “If this were a person, this would be murder. He deserves something more than this.”
Ring camera footage taken shortly after the attack shows Caico returning home, calling 911 in distress and frantically shutting her front door when the German Shepherds try to reenter her house.
The two dogs escaped their own home after a landscaper left a gate open, Caico said.
No charges have been filed in connection with the incident, though Caico has expressed frustration with both the neighbor who let the dogs in and the outcome of the investigation.
“I’m still sick over all of this,” she said. “Nothing is going to come of this. Nothing.”
