Arlington dog euthanized after online petition launched to save her
ARLINGTON, Va. - A dog named Marley was euthanized Sunday after biting a smaller dog that got loose from its owner in Virginia, despite online efforts to save her.
On Sunday, The Humane Rescue Alliance (HRA) announced that it "made the difficult decision" to euthanize Marley after she completed a 10-day bite quarantine.
The decision to euthanize the dog came on the same day that rally was being held in the area to help Marley, and as an online petition to save her had gained traction.
Marley was a rescue dog belonging to the HRA, who was being fostered by a woman in Arlington named Rachel Manu. She was in and out of two homes before being given to Manu at the beginning of this month. According to the HRA, Marley was a rescue because she was a stray who was brought in after being discovered that she had allegedely killed a cat.
According to Manu, she and Marley were out on a walk, and that Marley was leashed, when the biting incident happened.
READ MORE: Petition launched to save Arlington dog scheduled to be euthanized
During their stroll, another dog, a Yorkie who also was on a leash, started barking at Marley. The Yorkie's owner, according to Manu, was fidgeting with a bike and not holding her dog's leash when the Yorkie approached her and Marley.
Manu says Marley originally was calm when she tried to intervene and get the other dog away. That’s when Marley bit the Yorkie, causing serious, but non-life-threatening injuries.
"It wasn’t until I bent down to kind of get the other dog away that she went and returned retaliation onto the Yorkie," Manu told FOX 5.
Manu reached into Marley’s mouth to get her to stop biting the Yorkie and was injured while doing that. As required, she let the HRA know what happened, giving Marley back to them. She was later informed that Marley would have to be euthanized.
The Yorkie suffered serious injuries but is expected to survive.
Given Marley’s history being in and out of foster homes, and this act of aggression after behavioral therapy, the HRA made the decision they say they don’t take lightly: to put Marley down.
Prior to that decision being made, Manu had launched an online campaign to get Marley help. That generated support for several organizations, and even prompted a local woman to make Change.org petition that got more than 7,400 signatures.
A rescue group, Manu, and the woman who started the petition even hired a lawyer to try and stop the euthanization. They were planning on filing an injunction Monday, based on an email from the HRA that said that was the "likely" date for Marley's euthanization.
Manu told FOX 5 on Sunday, he was later told on the phone that Marley would be put down when a 10-day bite quarantine was done, as required by law, and not on Monday.
The HRA said they did not take the decision lightly, adding that giving Marley to another group wasn’t an option because of her past behavior.