Help Poe Stay With His Family

On October 25, 2024, a very unfortunate incident occurred with our one year old puppy, Poe and a friend of my son. I was at work and the kids had a half day of school so my son asked if two friends could come over our house. I specifically told him only one friend, but the other friend lives close enough to walk here and so he did. Meanwhile, the first friend arrived with his grandmother and she wanted to speak to my daughter regarding supervision of the boys. While my daughter stepped outside to talk with the grandmother, my son opened our front door and our dog, Poe, pushed past him to get outside. Poe ran past my son, my daughter, the grandmother, the first friend and friend's sister directly toward the friend who had walked down to our property. In an instant, Poe bit the hand of the friend and a short chase ensued until my daughter gained control of Poe. No one truly knows why Poe acted in this way, it happened so quickly no one really saw anything until after it happened. Poe had never shown aggressive behavior before this and he hasn't show any since. The bite did not require stitches or derma glue, just a good cleaning, and Poe was/is up to date on his shots so no additional medical care was needed.

The local dog warden had settled on a fine for a violation of reasonable confinement of a dog (for Poe being able to push through to get outside) but the parent of the child involved pushed the dog warden to change that to a more serious charge of dangerous dog.

The penalties/stipulations for a dog who has been found guilty and deemed a dangerous dog are:

- payment to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania of $1000 annual registration fee for the life of the dog

- carry a surety bond or liability insurance with the office of Dog Law listed on the policy so they can be immediately notified of any lapse in coverage (from what I've researched so far, between $450-$550 annually, for the life of the dog)

- dog must be muzzled when outside of the primary home

- dog must be on a leash no longer than 3 feet at all times when outside of the primary home

- fine totaling $689 with the local MDJ

Today, February 11, 2025, Poe was found guilty and designated a dangerous dog in the eyes of Pennsylvania.

The only way around the above listed stipulations is to give Poe away to someone in a different state, or to surrender him for euthanasia. If I am unable to come up with the funds, my last resort would be to find Poe a home out of state. I will never surrender my baby for a death sentence.

We have had Poe since he was 5 1/2 weeks old. He left his mother early because she was not producing milk for the puppies. My fiancé's sister also brought in a puppy from the same litter and is the entire reason we found Poe and brought him home. Poe is a baby, literally. He is one year and 5 months old.

** Any money raised over the goal will be put towards having Poe neutered. We've been wanting to schedule but the SPCA is booked 4 months out so a regular vet may be our best option.