AR-News: (US-IN) Ind. Judge Appoints Attorney for Canine

[marisul]

Fw: animal law development?Ind. Judge Appoints Attorney for Canine 
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Published: May 21, 2004 

Filed at 8:31 a.m. ET 

CROWN POINT, Ind. (AP) -- Plenty of lawyers have dogs -- but how many dogs have 
lawyers? 

At least one. And his name is Cabic. 

Lake Circuit Judge Lorenzo Arredondo appointed an attorney Thursday to represent 
Cabic at a hearing to determine whether he is a wolf-dog hybrid. 

For Cabic, the outcome is a matter of life and death. 

Cabic bit one of his owner's Cedar Lake neighbors, Mark Schilling, in the thigh 
on April 18 when Schilling came to borrow a power tool. The dog's owner, Nancy 
Armalius, does not dispute that. 

But Schilling became ill a few days later and doctors told him the bite wound 
was infected. Animal Control authorities put the dog on a 10-day quarantine to 
determine if he has rabies. 

However, the 10-day waiting period does not apply to wild animals. Under Indiana 
law, wolf-dog hybrids are considered wild, said Nicholas Doffin, the county 
health administrator. 

``The incubation periods vary in wild animals so you can't determine how long it 
takes for the disease to surface,'' Doffin said. 

If the judge rules that Cabic is a hybrid, the animal's head must be removed and 
sent to the state Health Department laboratory to be tested for rabies. 

Schilling believes that Cabic is a German shepherd-wolf mix. Armalius' former 
husband said the dog was the offspring of a German shepherd and a wolf, but 
Armalius is not certain, said Priscilla Herochik, Cabic's attorney. 

Schilling is receiving a series of rabies vaccinations that likely would keep 
him from contracting the disease, but he said he wants to know for sure whether 
the dog could have given him rabies. 

``Everybody's talking about statistics but I say, 'Screw the statistics.' Does 
it have rabies or doesn't it? My peace of mind is more important than any 
animal,'' Schilling said. 

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Dog-Attorney.html 

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