The Mat-Su Animal Control Board did not reach an agreement Wednesday evening over the fate of a sled dog that attacked a toddler in May.
After hours of testimony that led to deliberations behind closed doors in an adjudicatory session, the board announced it was at an impasse, with two members in favor of putting the dog down, and two members voting to spare its life.
Wizard, the young husky belonging to Iditarod musher Jake Berkowitz, has been in quarantine since the attack. Days after two year-old Elin Shuck was bit and shaken by Wizard inside of the Berkowitz dog yard, the chief animal control officer for the borough recommended to the board that Wizard be killed. On Wednesday, the board took up that recommendation, determining whether Wizard should be classified as "level 5," the most severe classification that a dog can receive under borough law. The board also heard arguments on whether Wizard, by borough definition, was provoked.
According to the borough, Jake and Robin Berkowitz were not at home at the time, but knew Sundquist was going to stop by to take care of her dogs that she boarded at the Berkowitz property because they had texted each other earlier. During her testimony, Shuck's mother Jennifer Sundquist, described what she saw that day as she walked out of the dog yard with her children and one of the dogs she was taking back to her house.
"He had her by the throat and they were in the middle of the roadway and I got there as fast as I could... just hitting him in the face," said Sundquist. "He tried to take her from me and I beat him off again. And I had to ask my son for help. My four-year-old son had to help me."
Sundquist says her children grew up around sled dogs and knew not to tease or provoke them in any way. But Myron Angstman, the attorney for the Berkowitz's, argued that dog yards are commonly known to be an unsafe place, especially for children.
"There's something about a small child that definitely sets off a dog yard," said Jake Berkowitz. Angstman asked him if that creates a danger for the child in a dog yard. "Absolutely, things break in dog yards. We do our best job to ensure that things don't break, but there's always an inherent risk being in a dog yard," said Berkowitz.
The board will meet on June 24 to make a final decision on the matter. Board member John Wood called the case the "toughest he's ever dealt with."
The borough will have a chance to appeal the board's final decision.
Contact Abby Hancock: