Owner of dog in fatal attack wants animal destroyed
By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau
LIHU'E, Kaua'i — Police continue to investigate the Feb. 21 death of a Kaua'i toddler in a dog attack and have asked the Kaua'i Humane Society to keep the animal alive as possible evidence in the case.
The dog's owner has asked the society to euthanize the dog.
Trusten Heart Liddle was fatally mauled by a chained dog.
Assistant Police Chief Gordon Isoda said that when the investigation is complete, the evidence will be turned over to the county prosecutor's office. Deputy Prosecutor Craig De Costa said he has discussed the case with police, but will not make a determination about pressing criminal charges until the investigation is done.
Seventeen-month-old Trusten Heart Liddle was fatally mauled by a chained dog after he apparently wandered within the dog's reach. The boy was with his 6-year-old brother and his parents, Damon Dove Liddle and Raven Liddle, and his grandparents, who were working on the family's organic farm in the Moloa'a lots in east Kaua'i.
The dog was one of five kept on an adjacent property. All were either chained or caged, but their owner, whose name has not been released, was not present. One of the issues in the case is whether the dog's chain was long enough to reach across the property line onto the lot where the Liddles were working, or whether the attack took place entirely on the dog owner's property.
Liddle family friend Susan Marshall said the family is grieving and will not make any public statements about the case in the immediate future.
The Humane Society will care for the dog until authorities say the animal is not needed in a possible prosecution, said director Becky Rhoades.
"If the owner wants the dog euthanized, we don't have any choice in the matter, but we also have to cooperate with law enforcement," she said.
The dog owner also gave the humane society control over the four other dogs that were on the property, a female and three males. Rhoades said the owner came to the shelter to make the arrangements.
Rhoades said they are working with the animals and will make an assessment of whether they are appropriate for adoption.
At least two of the dogs, a male and a female, appear to be readily handled. Two others, both young males that had been caged together, are more of a problem, she said.
Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 245-3074.
