Gideon, the dog who has captured the hearts of many around the world will not be seeing justice, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, Michigan who has decided not to pursue charges on Gideons alleged abusers.
Gideon suffered massive burns to his body after he was allegedly placed in boiling water during a domestic dispute between a 19-year-old woman and her mother.
He suffered third-degree burns to his legs, underbody, rear and and other parts of his body and had to undergo life saving surgery and painful treatments in the days and weeks that followed to keep him alive which were done by the rescue Detroit Animal Welfare Group (DAWG).
The mother alleges that the 19-year-old woman placed Gideon in the water as a result of an argument between the two. On January 12th the 19-year-old woman had her mother removed from her Detroit home by calling 911 and alleging her mother was intoxicated and had to be removed from the house.
When the mother returned the next day she found Gideon burned and crying.
According to Prosecutor Worthys office when police were at the home to take a report on the alleged abuse done to Gideon a 13-year-old who was present in the home told officers that “she was downstairs sleeping when she heard Gideon crying before he ran down the stairs with burns. When asked if the dog had jumped into the tub, she told police the dog was too small to do so.”
A paid professional veterinarian who did a forensic assessment of Gideons injuries said that his injuries were not consistent with him jumping into the tub.
The mother changed her story in a follow-up interview and said that she previously saw Gideon jump into the tub, which did not match what she previously told investigators.
The Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy released this statement after announcing her decision not to bring charges in this case:
“I understand the passion of animal lovers. We have had an Animal Protection Unit with dedicated prosecutors reviewing animal cruelty cases since 2010. From 2010 until the present, we have charged 517 cases. My office is the only one in our state to have a dedicated unit for these cases.
“People are correct about this: Gideon, a four-month-old Jack Russell Terrier suffered horrific abuse. But in every crime, we must be able to prove WHO did it. We are not able to do that in this case. Some think that we should have just rounded up everyone in the house and charged everyone quickly and without a thorough investigation. We are certainly not going to arrest and charge everyone that we think are responsible – that must be backed up by evidence. Evidence and facts must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. In some cases, we strongly suspect who has committed a crime and we may think that they are guilty, but as long as I am the Wayne County Prosecutor, we will not charge if it is not supported by our laws. I will never grandstand like that. None of us are going to violate our oaths to do justice by circumventing the law and what is right.
“I absolutely support people’s right to protest and express their opinions. I prefer that people be respectful in voicing said opinions. Many people have been unbelievably mean, threatening, disrespectful, and spiteful – but even that is tolerated. Just know that no number of protesters, strongly worded posts, and bombardment of emails and texts are going to make me do what is not right, what is not just, and what is not allowable under the law.
“We understand that there will be many that will be very displeased with our decision to deny charges today. These will be some of the same people that disparaged us for taking our time to do a complete investigation. But what is right is right. What is just is just. Sometimes our charging decisions will upset others. But ultimately, we must charge what we can prove. We must be able to prove who did this horrible injustice, and we cannot do that in this case.”