Vicious dog euthanization case heads to Lake County court Friday
The case of a dog scheduled to be euthanized after being labeled vicious by Hawthorn Woods authorities will be reviewed in court again Friday.
Heidi, a beagle mix first scheduled to be killed in 2013 after biting multiple people during a five-year period, received the stay from Lake County Judge Jorge Ortiz because a potential new owner wants to intervene in the legal proceedings.
On Oct. 16, Ortiz agreed to spare the dog's life for now while a state appellate court decides if new owner Chandler Bathrick has a right to enter the court case and block the euthanization.
“I most reluctantly grant a 14-day stay while the state appellate court dockets the case,” Ortiz said. That 14-day stay is up Friday.
This is the latest delay in the saga of 8-year-old Heidi, a dog that authorities say has bitten several people in Hawthorn Woods. Heidi also is accused of biting a person downstate, and a person in West Palm Beach, Florida, authorities said.
According to Hawthorn Woods Police Chief Jennifer Paulus, Heidi bit a person in Florida in 2008, and about a half-dozen people in Hawthorn Woods from 2008 through 2012. The dog was deemed vicious, Paulus said, and was banished in 2012.
However, former owners Brian and Jean Bacardi returned the dog to the village where she bit another person in 2013. Village officials deemed the dog vicious, and a court order was issued to have the dog euthanized.
The Bacardis fought the decision in court, prompting a delay in carrying out the order.
Bathrick joined the fight this year after deciding he wanted to take in the dog.
Ortiz said in court he believes Bathrick is working with the Bacardis to circumvent the court's decision.
“I adopted Heidi to save her life and I did so permanently,” Bathrick said in an email. “I love her like I love my other dogs and that's why I'm fighting for her.”