The lives of two pit bulls, one of which bit a Scarborough woman in July, have been spared, despite the state’s efforts to have both dogs euthanized.

Cheryl Dill, of Gorham Road, was charged with two counts of keeping dangerous dogs. In July, Scarborough resident Joann Adams was bitten by one of the dogs while walking her own miniature Dachshund on her daily route around her neighborhood. Dill’s trial was held Monday at District Court in Portland.

Adams, who testified at the trial, received 17 stitches in her leg from the bite.

Because Adams never turned around to see which of the two dogs bit her, Judge Roland Beaudoin said he didn’t feel he had the authority to have them euthanized, which, he said, was the most severe of punishments.

“There are other remedies available,” he said. “The state has failed to prove which dog nipped the defendant.”

State prosecutor Michael Madigan suggested the dogs be kept in a secured enclosure, at least 6 feet in height, and that Dill pay a $500 fine for each count of keeping a dangerous dog, along with $2,388.89 in restitution to Adams for her hospital bills. The judge agreed that was an appropriate punishment.

The state initially argued for the euthanization of the dogs because of the extent of the injury Adams incurred and the risk of death posed by the fact that the dogs were overdue for vaccinations. Though the judge said he “would not want to be bitten by a dog the way this lady was,” he did not believe Adams was at risk of death.

During her testimony, Adams said she “could feel the blood pouring down” her leg as she walked away from the dogs, who ran toward her as she passed by Dill’s home. A clerk at the Scarborough Post Office, she was out of work for two weeks after the incident, she said.

Though Adams said there are some scars that will be “most likely permanent,” she said there has been no long-term effect on her ability to function normally.

“I still walk, but not that route,” she said.

In Dill’s testimony, she said the incident was the first time the 9-year-old dogs, Roxie and Jade, had bitten anyone.

“They lick you to death,” she said. “They give you kisses.”

Dill called the dogs “well-disciplined” and said they are in a house with any number of her 10 grandchildren on a daily basis, and she’s never had a problem with them.

In an interview after the trial, Dill said she already had an outdoor kennel for the dogs that she put up after the incident and that met the standards ordered by the judge.

Dill said she didn’t expect the dogs would have to be euthanized, and thought the trial “went pretty good.”

Though Adams was disappointed that the dogs were not euthanized, she said, “I’m just glad I got it over with.”

Adams said she still fears another incident could occur – and maybe a worse one next time.

“There’s always that ‘if’ chance,” she said.

Though Adams believes she did what she could do to try to protect her neighborhood, she said if one of the dogs bit again, “I’d be heartbroken.”

Joann Adams testifies at Portland District Court Monday in a trial between the state and Cheryl Dill, a Scarborough resident who was charged with keeping dangerous dogs. One of Dill’s two pit bulls bit Adams in July as she was walking down Gorham Road.