The Servicio Nacional de Salud Animal (Senasa) – national animal health service – decide that Max, the dog that bit a 11 year old boy on September 2 will not be sacrificed, but the animal must undergo training to treat aggressive behaviour.
So says Allan Sanchez, SENASA’s regional director, explaining that the family has decided to privately seek out professional services for Max, instead of being treated by professionals of the SENASA.
Sanchez says the family was notified of the decision to allow the private treatment, provided the family notifies authorities of the name of the professional trainer and the progress of the treatment. In addition, the dog must be kept behind a gate, to get out twice a week with a muzzle and always on a leash.
Animal lovers have been sitting on edge waiting this decision.
Max, a black and white ‘zaguate’ (the Spanish term used in Costa Rica for a mutt), is property of Edgar Sibaja and Luzmilda Marchena and their children, since they got him when he was only two weeks old. They promised to sacrifice Sibaja’s Christmas bonus to build a gate to keep Max in the front yard in Dos Cercas in Desamparados.
At first it appeared that Max was due for execution. But behaviorist Alejandro del Valle says this is the last resort when all else fails. Moreover, Deborah Portillo’s animal rights organization, Costa Rica Guau, had organized a protest for Oct. 13 to have Max pardoned.
Source: La Nacion, iNews.co.cr