No charges yet in Kaua'i dog attack
By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau
LIHU'E, Kaua'i — Kaua'i Police Department Assistant Chief Gordon Isoda said yesterday that no decision has been made about possible charges against the owner of a dog that killed a toddler Feb. 21.
Police hope to conclude their investigation next week and will present their findings to the prosecuting attorney's office, which will determine whether a criminal case is warranted.
Seventeen-month-old Trusten Heart Liddle was with his parents, grandparents and 6-year-old brother at the family's organic farm in Moloa'a when he was attacked by a dog chained on a neighboring property.
Child Welfare Services, the state agency charged with protecting the health and safety of children, looked into reports that the boy was wandering unsupervised with his brother at the time of the attack, but the case has been closed.
"That was determined to be unfounded," said agency spokesman Derek Dahilig.
The attacking dog, a beagle mix, was one of five dogs either chained or caged on a property near the farm. All five dogs were taken into custody at the Kaua'i Humane Society shelter in Kipu. Society director Becky Rhoades said the dogs' owner, whose name has not been released, asked that the animal involved in the attack be destroyed, but it is being kept at the shelter at the request of law enforcement authorities.
Initial reports were that the boy wandered onto the neighboring property and into the dog's reach. But Liddle family friend Susan Marshall, an attorney, said the canine appeared to have been able to cross the property line onto the Liddle property.
The Liddle family has set up a fund in Trusten's name that will be used to establish a nonprofit learning center for children. Marshall said it will be based on Hawaiian principles, sustainable agriculture and renewable resources. Messages or donations may be sent to: Trusten Heart Liddle Fund, P.O. Box 201, Kilauea, HI 96754, or donations made out to the "Trusten Heart Liddle Fund" can be dropped off at any Bank of Hawaii branch.
Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 245-3074.
