Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, May 11, 1990                   TAG: 9005110552
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WINCHESTER                                LENGTH: Medium

MAN'S PROTEST WINS DOG STAY OF EXECUTION

Mike Snead's protest Wednesday apparently won the year-old dog a stay of execution. The dog was due to be killed Wednesday, but remained at the Esther Boyd Animal Shelter in Frederick County on Thursday.

"We decided to wait because of all the controversy," said Assistant County Administrator Steve Owen. Owen said the dog probably will be killed soon, but no new date has been set.

The 35-pound dog was brought to the shelter April 28, after it reportedly bit a child.

"The two women who work [at the shelter] were both very negative about the dog just because he was a pit bull," Snead said. "They were scared to death of him."

Snead, of Winchester, said he inquired Tuesday about adopting the dog but was told he could not. Snead said shelter employees told him the dog would be killed the next day because it bit the child.

Snead said he returned to the shelter Wednesday and asked to see the animal. He then handcuffed himself to the dog's collar.

"I went through all the channels. This was a last resort," he said.

Snead later left when sheriff's deputies told him he would be arrested if he remained at the shelter.

"I sat in there for a while, petting him and playing with him," Snead said. "He's real lovable, just like a puppy."

Frederick County Animal Warden Harold Whitacre, who investigated the possible dog bite, said he was not sure the dog bit anyone. The child, who had a scratch on his arm, may have been scratched while playing with the dog, Whitacre said.

Whitacre said the animal did not appear to be vicious. "The dog was nice as he could be," he said.

Reports of pit bull attacks have given the breed a bad reputation, Whitacre said. Pit bulls have mauled and in some cases killed people.

Shelter Manager Sheila Bland said a dog suspected of biting someone is not usually offered for adoption.

She said that even if the dog were not killed, Snead would not be eligible to adopt the animal because he has a small child and because he doesn't have a fenced yard.