Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, December 17, 1994 TAG: 9412190068
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAVID REED ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: DANVILLE LENGTH: Medium
Smokey, the sad-eyed black Labrador retriever whose death sentence for chasing mail carriers attracted worldwide interest, was sprung from the pound Friday after the prosecution dropped its case.
Smokey scampered in small circles around his owner, who plied him with big chunks of deer meat from every pocket as he walked him home across a creek and up through a hilly neighborhood.
``This all shows you, you don't mess with a man's best friend,'' Craig Jackson, 29, said on his front porch as he snuggled Smokey's cold nose. Jackson, an unemployed repairman, is separated from his wife and has no children.
``This is my boy here, my son. I missed him. Ain't no mailman gonna see him again.''
Smokey had been caged at the Danville Area Humane Society since Dec. 6, when General District Judge T. Ryland Dodson Jr. sentenced the Lab to die by lethal injection after convicting Jackson of harboring a vicious animal.
Dodson rescinded the order Friday after Danville Commonwealth's Attorney William H. Fuller III said city laws do not adequately define ``vicious.''
Postal workers testified that the dog had menaced them but had never bitten them.
The Humane Society was deluged with calls from people protesting the death sentence and offering to adopt the animal, whose picture inside a small cage was published in newspapers around the world.
Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger considered offering his diplomatic skills to negotiate a pardon and members of the Italian Parliament expressed their concern for Smokey's plight.
Back at the Humane Society, Smokey's former keepers still were furious Friday and said the ordeal may not be over. They claim Jackson is an irresponsible owner.
Blood samples analyzed by two veterinarians show that Smokey has heartworms, which can be fatal if the dog does not receive expensive, long-term treatment, society Director Paulette Dean said.
Jackson, Dean claimed, said he would not take Smokey to a veterinarian. ``Mr. Jackson said he would rather see his dog die of natural causes than [see] `you people have the pleasure of killing him.'''
Dean said a humane officer will check with the veterinarians in four days and seek another court order to have the dog removed from his home if he hasn't been treated for heartworms.
Jackson said he was just yanking their chain. ``I didn't pay her no mind really. I'll call the vet and if that's really what the deal is, I'll get'' the treatments.
Smokey is not neutered and by Jackson's estimate has sired more than 100 puppies. Dean said 55 stray dogs have been euthanized since Dec. 6, including some black Labs.
``I can almost guarantee some of them were Smokey's offspring,'' she said.
Jackson denied that. ``I can account for 85 percent of where they [pups] go to. We don't just give them to anybody.''
Jackson said he will not have his dog neutered.
by CNB