Killer Breed
...ery loving and protective with the people they live with, but because of their territorial nature, Presa Canarios can be aggressive towards strangers on their home turf and are almost always aggressive toward other dogs. According to dogbreed info.com, “just their appearance is a deterrent, not to mention their ability to confront any intruder. In the wrong hands this dog can be dangerous, but with the right owner it can make a nice, devoted companion. This is not a dog for first time dog owners.” The two Presa Canario dogs involved in the attack on Diane Whipple originally came from the “Dog o’ War” website. The Dog o’ War kennel was ran by an inmate of the Folsom prison in California. The dogs, Bane and Hera, then went to a Trinity county farm “where they were not trained to fight, attack, kill” (Phillips 2) Bane and Hera then lived in Los Angeles for a few months and after that lived with Knoller and Noel in their San Francisco apartment. On February 22, 2001, the decision was announced that Bane would be destroyed. On July 27, 2001, it was ordered that Hera be destroyed as well. After the attack on Whipple, Marjorie Knoller was charged with second degree murder and Knoller and her husband, Robert Noel, were both charged with involuntary manslaughter and owning a mischievous animal. Knoller and Noel, by representation of their attorneys, filed a motion for a change of venue fearing an unfair trial in San Francisco. The motion was granted, and in February of 2002 the criminal trial began in Los Angeles with Judge James Warren presiding. It seems by the opening statement made by San Francisco District Attorney, JamesHammer, and his line of questioning, he was attempting to prove that Knoller and Noel were aware of the fact that their dogs were a serious threat to people. He called several tenants of the Pacific Heights apartment building to the stand. Among the neighbors to testify were: David Moser, Skip Cooley, Henry Putek, Jr., John O’Connell and Diana Curtis. All of these witnesses testified that one or both of the dogs had bitten or lunged at them in the past. Mr. Hammer questioned veteran dog trainer, Mario Montepeque, who testified that he had urged Noel to use a choke collar on the dog, Bane, and Noel answered by saying, “There is no control if the dog decides to charge, no way to stop him.” (Phillips 5) Animal control officer, Andrea Runge and SWAT team officer, Alec Cardenas, both testified that Marjorie Knoller was very calm and almost cold. (5) Witnesses told the jury that there was a letter sent to Noel and Knoller from a veterinarian warning that the dogs were a “liability”. Marjorie Knoller was seen being dragged down the street by the dogs; confirming the fact that she had no control of the dogs. When the defense began their case on March 4, 2002, Knoller’s attorney, Nedra Ruiz, countered that Knoller and Noel did not own the dogs; they were merely fostering them while they had been ill. The dogs were never trained to fight and not a threat to people. Noel’s attorney, Bruce Hodgekiss, contended that because Robert Noel wasn’t home during the attack, he couldn’t possibly be guilty. Among the witnesses for the defense were several shop owners and employees. These witnesses testified that when Knoller and Noel visited with the dogs, the dogs were well behaved and often friendly. Veterinarians, Stephanie Flowers and Sheila Sugurson testified that they had no problem treating Hera. Suguron added that, “Here was a shy, timid and somewhat fearful dog, which can lead to aggression.” (7) Veterinarian, Polly James, treated Bane for knee problems and didn’t have any problems with him. Dr. James said she muzzled Bane because Noel had told...