AUGUSTA (AP) — A death row dog considered dangerous may be getting a reprieve.
Republican Maine Gov. Paul LePage said Thursday he has pardoned Dakota the Alaskan husky from a death sentence levied at a court hearing last week.
District Attorney Maeghan Maloney says her office is researching LePage’s pardoning power.
Dakota killed a neighbor’s pug last year and later broke out of court-ordered confinement to bite the neighbor’s Pekingese, which survived. Dakota was ordered held at a shelter and has since been adopted.
LePage says the new owner didn’t know about the court hearing.
Pet pardons aren’t unprecedented. In 1994, Democratic New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman saved a Japanese Akita that faced execution.
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less