Jeb, a young, two-year-old Malinois, was condemned to death by the American justice system for killing a neighbor's dog in September 2016.[caption id="attachment_31938" align="alignnone" width="601"]
Jeb and his owner, Kenneth Job. Source: Associated Press[/caption]The animal who had been saved and adopted by the Job family at the beginning of 2016, had become Kenneth's service animal. The 79-year-old Airforce veteran has the neurodegenerative disease, Charcot-Marie-Tooth.Last August, Christopher Sawa, the Job family's neighbor for 30 years, looked out his window and saw Jeb, the Malinois, next to the lifeless body of his Pomeranian, Vlad. Shocked, he called animal control, who immediately took Jeb away.[caption id="attachment_31940" align="alignnone" width="634"]
Vlad, the deceased Pomeranian. Source: Christopher Sawa[/caption]The Malinois was locked up at the pound, and the Job family hired a lawyer to defend him at the trial in September. Sadly, the decision was quickly made, Jeb was considered a "dangerous dog," and was scheduled to be euthanized.
Source: CNN
However, the Job family was convinced that their dog, extremely sweet and calm, couldn't attack a human or any other animal, and wasn't responsible for the death of the little Pomeranian. As a last resort, they demanded a DNA analysis, to see if the injuries were truly caused by Jeb.On October 24, the results came back without question: Jeb was innocent. His DNA wasn't the one that was found on Vlad's body. The judge ordered him to be immediately released from the pound and given back to his family.[caption id="attachment_31942" align="alignnone" width="601"]
Jeb is given back to his family after being found innocent. Source: Associated Press[/caption]Infinitely relieved to have been reunited with their beloved pet, the Job family regrets that a DNA test isn't standard procedure for these types of cases. David Favre, professor at Michigan State University College of Law, explainedto CNN:
Dogs have no rights. They're property. Now people will realize they can do this, that it's a tool. They used a very creative defense.
However, the nine weeks spent in a tiny cage have had their effects on the Malinois. He has become skittish and lost a lot of weight. He will need time to forget this ordeal.
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