NEDERLAND, Texas — Two dogs in Nederland are being given a second chance after a dangerous dog hearing on Thursday morning.
Kelsi Taylor and her husband have been fighting to keep their dogs from being euthanized, after the dogs have been called "aggressive," by animal control.
Taylor says one of the dogs is a lab, boxer and hound mix. The other dog is a black mouth cur and pit bull mix. The dogs will now have the chance to be adopted by owners outside of the county after today's hearing.
"When people see pit bulls they instantly react to it in fear, you know, it's like it's not a chihuahua, not a Pomeranian, it's a big dog that looks scary that was used back in the time for animal fighting," Taylor said. "So yeah, I do believe if it was a different dog, or if it was just my lab, I probably wouldn't be going through any of this."
Cameras were not allowed in Judge Larry Dowden's courtroom. According to the animal control officer, they've had multiple calls about the dogs since 2018, and two neighbors shared about encounters that made them feel unsafe around the dogs.
One neighbor says he was cornered by the dogs, and was backed into his home.
Another neighbor says his wife and chihuahua were cornered by the dogs, and that the one of the dogs was seen the night his cat was killed.
Taylor said the first time animal control was called on her dogs, she was in labor and her late brother-in-law was staying at the house. It was at that time the couple was first made aware of the city's leash law.
Taylor said they don't have a fenced in yard so the dogs go on a chain. She said the dogs sneak out sometimes, but she always get's them back as soon as possible.
"All dogs get out, once they get that chance they all take off," Taylor said.
In late January, Taylor and her fiance were making funeral arrangements for her brother-in-law when their day went from bad to worse. The dogs escaped through a front window that had recently been replaced, frightening a neighbor and prompting her to call Animal Control.
"Next thing we know we got a phone call from the officers and we go up there and they're just playing in the yard and running around," Taylor said.
That's when the officer told her the dogs showed signs of aggression, and were going to have to go with them. The dogs were quarantined for three days. It wasn't until Taylor and her fiance were able to see them that they were told the dogs were going to be put down for aggressive behavior.
Taylor says the dogs have never bitten anyone or snapped that she's seen. Taylor said the dogs escaped out of a window that had just been fixed in their home.
Taylor said she felt scared into signing the paperwork to put them down. When she got home she made a Facebook post about what was going on that got a lot of attention.
"The city of Nederland had called after phone call after phone call and they were like okay, we're not going to put them down," Taylor said.
She decided to fight for her dogs, leading up to Thursday's trial.
Nederland Police Chief Gary Porter says Nederland has a 'leash law' that has fines that increase with each incident in which the law is broken. He says owners are encouraged to keep the dogs put up.
"Normally we want to keep our citizens informed about what the consequences are for dogs running at large and I will tell you there's a thousand things that can happen when dogs are running at large, and 999 of them are bad," Chief Gary Porter said. "There's a leash law in Nederland and what that means is anytime you're off your property and not on some other private property that you have permission to have your dog, but your dog has to be on a leash and that's anywhere."
Porter said the law is meant to protect both people and pets. He said sometimes dogs behavior is unpredictable when they're roaming free.
"Pack instincts kick in and they get into mischief and sometimes they can get aggressive when they're not at all aggressive at home," Porter said.
Taylor is relieved the dogs get a second chance at life in a new home.
"It's better than them being stuck in an 8-foot tall concrete kennel and being muzzled 24/7, versus them being actually adopted to someone who can love and take care of them," Taylor said. "So I am very excited that they actually get another chance and have time to grow."
The couple has a couple of options lined up for the dogs. They also must provide proof of rabies vaccine and pay off any fines and fees they've accumulated.
Taylor is grateful to everyone who has shown their support both in court Thursday and on social media.