Judge Orders That ‘Vicious’ Dog Be Killed

Ruling in one of Orange County’s relatively rare animal “death penalty” cases, a judge Thursday sentenced a Neapolitan mastiff to death as a vicious dog.

Slater will be put to death today after his owners, Dave Leto and Gay McElwaine of San Juan Capistrano, are allowed a last visit.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Dennis S. Choate reaffirmed his previous ruling that the 3-year-old dog is vicious and should be destroyed.

“I am not convinced that this is a predictable, safe dog,” Choate said, adding that Slater poses a threat to the public.

“I don’t do this lightly, believe me,” he said. “I’m a dog owner.”

Choate’s decision ends a saga that began last year on Christmas Day when Slater bit a 10-year-old boy in the face, causing a wound that required more than 50 stitches. Leto and McElwaine have alleged that the boy, the son of family friends, provoked Slater by karate-chopping the 120-pound dog in the face.

The boy’s civil attorney and animal-control investigators disagree. Slater, they argued, has a record of biting without provocation. He had previously bitten a girl in Ventura County.

Slater’s attorney, Michael Rotsten of Encino, who specializes in dog cases, tried to convince Choate that there were alternatives to killing Slater. He suggested that the dog be taken from his owners and sent to Continental K-9 in Gardena, where he could work as a guard dog.

The company owner, J.R. Ewing, testified that he has about 250 such dogs, many with bite records. “We take all big, mean dogs,” he said.

He said that Slater would require no additional training and that he would be kept in secure, fenced areas. The dogs are typically dropped off at businesses after hours and picked up in the morning, Ewing said.

Deputy County Counsel Nicole Sims rejected that offer and urged the judge to do the same.

“It would be easy for the county to wipe its hands of this matter and ship the dog to Mr. Ewing,” Sims said. “We just have no guarantee that Slater won’t attack again. This issue is public safety.”

Owners Won’t Appeal Decision

After Thursday’s ruling, a tearful McElwaine said she and Leto would not appeal the decision. She called the judge “open-minded,” even though she disagreed with his ruling.

“I’m very saddened by it,” said McElwaine, who along with Leto still faces a civil lawsuit by the boy’s family. “I know this dog. There were circumstances. He was provoked. If we thought this dog was vicious, we wouldn’t have put this much time and money and effort into it.”

McElwaine and Leto attended at least three hearings, first at Orange County Animal Care Services and later in Superior Court. They spent thousands of dollars in legal fees paid to Rotsten and expert witnesses.

Rotsten, who has criticized Orange County for too hastily determining that dogs are vicious, said: “It’s a sad state that we’re in when dogs have to be killed in the form of revenge or on the part of the victim. It’s like social revenge. It’s prehistoric thinking. The dog didn’t know what it did.”