News

Actions

Ionia dog owners granted new hearing in goat deaths

Posted at 2:17 PM, Mar 23, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-23 14:45:33-04

IONIA, Mich. (AP/FOX 17) — The owners of three dogs accused of killing goats have been granted a new hearing in Michigan.

The Ionia County Prosecutor tells FOX 17 that an Ionia County judge agreed Wednesday to allow the owners to present evidence they say exonerates the dogs in a “show cause hearing.” But the judge denied their request to immediately release two dogs still in the county’s custody.

The judge had ordered the dogs to be euthanized during a hearing in July, shortly after the dogs were found inside a pen with dead goats.

Two of the dogs are owned by Iraq War veteran Allen Hustin. His attorney says the dogs were recommended to him by a veterans group to help him deal with trauma. The third dog, owned by Hustin’s mother-in-law, went missing from the shelter last year.

FOX 17 has been following the story of Mario and Luigi since 2016. See below for past stories.