Judge rules to euthanize dog for attack on woman’s leg that led to amputation
A judge ruled to euthanize a dog that mangled a woman’s leg in March which later required amputation below the knee.
Judge John Martin ruled in favor of the city government that was seeking euthanasia for the dog named “Cowboy” that bit Neighborworks Columbus COO Kim Golden as she was touring an adjacent property.
“I find that Ms. Golden did nothing to provoke this attack,” said Judge John Martin during his ruling Wednesday.
Martin found that the dog seriously injured a human being and found the dog presents a danger to humans and is not suitable for control.
“He really don’t deserve this,” said one of the dog’s owners, Edward Murray, in his testimony prior to the Judge’s ruling.
“It happened for a reason, it had to have,” Murray later said. Murray stated that Golden snuck up on the dog and scared him. He also said the dog was “just protecting.”
Murray agreed that “Cowboy” inflicted serious injury to Golden.
The lawyer representing the city was pleased with the ruling.
“I think it’s great. I mean, I think that Ms. Golden will receive some justice and I think that the city is gonna be safer after this,” said Attorney Thomas Gristina.
Gristina said Golden has had to have another surgery on her leg due to infection and didn’t want to be “revictimized”, while explaining her absence from the hearing Wednesday.
“Unfortunate for Ms. Golden, she had to have yet another procedure removing more of her leg,” Gristina said in his opening remark.
“Any reasonable dog owner would’ve euthanized his own dog after an attack like this,” said Gristina when asked why cases like these aren’t commonly litigated. “The city shouldn’t have had to pay us to do this; Mr. Murray and Ms. Crockett should’ve euthanized Cowboy the day this happened.”
The date of the dog’s euthanasia is unknown at this time.
How we got here
The attack occurred on March 1 on Curtis Street in Columbus, according to original reporting from the Ledger-Enquirer.
Golden later required amputation of her leg following the incident. Doctors told Golden that all three major arteries that run from her leg to her foot were severed and her foot had to be amputated, according to testimony she gave on March 31.
During her testimony she said, “I saw parts of my body that shouldn’t be on the outside, on the outside.” She later said she now has to the crawl up the stairs in her house in order to take a shower.
Lt. Paul Syck of Columbus Animal Care & Control said he has only dealt with one dog more aggressive than “Cowboy” in his testimony on March 31.
The defendants, Jacqueline Crockett and Murray, argued that Golden either entered their property or provoked Cowboy into attacking her.
Murray would go on to describe Cowboy as a “Red Devil” pitbull and say the dog is “more protective” when asked whether Cowboy was a purebred pit bull.
The judge later ruled to keep Cowboy confined by Animal Care & Control. That temporary injunction would last 30 days after entry or until further order from the court, according to the order obtained by the Ledger-Enquirer.
This story was originally published April 26, 2023 at 5:03 PM.