Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

New leash on life for death row dog

He's on his way to freedom.

And considering he'll be able to run with other dogs, dig to his heart's content and be fed and loved every day, Nadas the canine may well think his new home at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah, truly is Doggie Heaven.

In any event, it means the collie-malamute mix who has been on death row in Medford, Ore., the past 16 months for allegedly chasing a horse will live. His death sentence was commuted, but only after an international uproar.

After a few hours' flight aboard an Alaskan Airlines jet, Nadas stepped out of his traveling kennel a free dog -- and an amazingly calm one at that, considering the blinding television camera lights and news photographers' flashes that greeted him in McCarran International Airport's cargo area after his plane landed about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday.

He was expected to arrive in Utah this morning, driven to his new home by sanctuary staff who helped break the ice with a handful of Pro Plan chicken-flavored biscuits for their new four-legged friend.

"He is just beautiful," sanctuary director Faith Maloney proclaimed after opening the carrier door and putting a new black mesh lead around Nadas' thick black and tan neck. An attached bone-shaped brass tag identified him as registered dog number 1170.

"What a handsome, handsome dog you are!"

Nadas is also a famous dog. Media coverage of his plight has won the hearts of sympathizers from as far away as Portugal, India and Russia.

It began a few months ago when a story about Nadas' once-impending doom appeared in the National Enquirer tabloid shortly before Christmas.

The television show "Hard Copy" was the next media outlet to pick up on the story, dedicating at least four episodes to the dog's case and animal activists' persistence to keep Nadas alive.

There is also now a Nadas web site on the Internet.

The ordeal began back in September 1996 when 13-year-old Amanda Morgan accused Nadas of chasing her horse -- something that seems normal in the animal kingdom, but is against the law in Oregon.

The law is an old one, crafted to protect livestock from being chased, injured or killed by other animals.

Nadas' owner, Sean Roach, fought the Jackson County Commissioners' decision, which to this day has barred him from seeing the dog he raised from a puppy. He has also been denied the opportunity to have an independent photographer take pictures of the dog abruptly seized from his home by an animal control officer.

Michelle Morgan, Amanda's mother, told "Hard Copy" that she pushed charges against Roach and his dog because she believed Nadas could have chased the horse into the road where it could have been hit by a car, making the Morgans financially responsible for any injuries suffered by the car's occupants.

Had the Morgans dropped charges against the dog, the family would have had to pay for Nadas' food and care during the many months he was incarcerated. Instead, Roach and his mother have footed the bill -- more than $4,000.

Rita Fraser, Best Friends events coordinator, saw National Enquirer's article and alerted sanctuary members of the dog's plight. A letter from the sanctuary was rushed to Oregon, offering their facility as an alternative.

"We heard nothing at first, then heard that our offer had been categorically denied," Maloney said.

On Feb. 12, however, pressure from the media and animal advocates paid off. Jackson County Commissioners -- who for more than a year had firmly stood their ground -- passed an ordinance allowing Nadas to live in Utah.

As part of the deal, Roach has been ordered to drop all lawsuits and pay the dog's transportation costs. He was also ordered not to see the dog ever again.

"So many animals are being destroyed all over the country -- perfectly nice, decent dogs," Maloney said. "The media puts a face on one dog that represents so many, and suddenly there is an outcry all over the world that killing isn't right."

Nadas will be living among about 500 canines in "Dog Town," about 30 acres on the sanctuary's 3,000-acre property that is also home to cats, birds, goats, pigs and other animals.

He will be in a small run for his first week as he gets adjusted to his new surroundings. Eventually he'll move into a larger enclosure to live with as many as eight other dogs.

"He can run in the sunshine, dig in the red Utah dirt, play with other dogs, and be part of a pack," Fraser said. "There's plenty of human interaction with feeding and grooming, but it's a life that's even more normal for a dog than living in a house."

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