Group Protests Dog's Death Sentence

PRINCETON TWP., N.J. - November 13, 2007 (WPVI) -- More than 100 people protested a death sentence, but in this case, the punishment is for a dog.

The protest outside Princeton Township Municipal court was in support of Congo, a two-and-half-year-old German Shepard ordered euthanized for mauling landscaper Giovanni Rivera last June.

A judge declared Congo vicious and under state law should be put to sleep. However, the sentence was stayed pending an appeal to Superior Court. That process could take months.

Guy James, the dog's owner, said he told the landscapers in Spanish to stay in their car until the six dogs, including Congo, were finished eating in the yard, but they didn't. A chaotic scene followed. Elizabeth James went into the yard to try to quell the situation. She said one of the workers hit the dogs with a rake and then Rivera grabbed her.

"This man grabbed me once. I saw Congo jump up. I can't say if he made contact. The second time he grabbed me from behind and we both went down on the grass. He wouldn't let go of my arm and these dogs were going to protect me," said James.

Rivera, who has been awarded a quarter-million dollar insurance settlement, spoke to Action News with his attorney and an interpreter.

"It was a mauling. It wasn't a dog bite," said the attorney, Kevin Riechelson.

The attorney for Congo's owners wanted the dog released to his owners pending the appeal. He said the dog was not a flight risk. The judge denied the request and Congo remains in a Princeton shelter.

(Copyright 2007 by Action News and 6abc. All Rights Reserved.)

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