The four-year-old Labrador mix who bit three people and embroiled his owner in a two-year legal battle that made its way to the state Supreme Court will be euthanized Friday.
On Thursday, Lino Lakes officials stood by their decision to destroy Brody, who has bit three additional veterinary staff in the two years since he was deemed dangerous and impounded.
"All of these bites came at waist height, they were vicious, they drew blood and were deep," Lino Lakes Mayor Jeff Reinert said. "Thank God these attacks were on adults because if it were a child, I don't want to think about that. It's a chilling result at that point."
Brody's scheduled execution at 4 p.m. comes two days after the Minnesota Supreme Court unanimously upheld a decision by the city of Lino Lakes that ordered Brody be destroyed because of three biting incidents in a six-month period. The high court, reversing an earlier Court of Appeals decision, determined that the city has the right to determine when a dog is dangerous and acted properly. Reinert said the city appealed to the Supreme Court because their city ordinance was in accordance with state law, and affected multiple other cities.
Two sides of Brody
Brody's owner, Mitchell Sawh, visited his dog for the last time Thursday at an east metro veterinary clinic. While his elderly mother sobbed in the lobby, he went to the kennel area alone and came back with video that showed the dog wagging its tail and frolicking in the snow out back.
However, Brody snarled, barked and lunged with teeth bared at a reporter and other visitors, including a police officer, who came to see the dog within its kennel, while Sawh tried unsuccessfully to gain control of him.
"He has lived here two years," a teary-eyed Sawh said as he tried to explain the dog's behavior.
