CHARLESTON, W.Va. — In the end, high-profile friends were not enough to save Jasper the dog.
Jasper, said to be a whippet mix, had been on a doggie version of death row since a 2015 magistrate court ruling following his biting of a 4-year-old girl and an 8-year-old girl three times over several months.
The 23-pound dog stayed in isolation at the Raleigh County animal shelter while his case went up and down the West Virginia court system, including multiple considerations by the state Supreme Court.
He got political support from Gov. Jim Justice and legal support from House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, in his role as a private attorney.
Hanshaw even tried to appeal Jasper’s case — as a property rights issue — to the U.S. Supreme Court.
None of that was enough.
The Facebook page “Justice for Jasper” announced the dog’s euthanization on Wednesday.
“We are absolutely heartbroken to announce that Jasper’s fight ended this morning. His life was so precious to so many & his love, smile & tail wag will never be forgotten,” his supporters wrote in the post.
“He had so many wonderful supporters & received more love than most dogs will ever receive.”
Jasper’s plight gained the attention of Gov. Jim Justice, a dog lover, in early 2017 when supporters pleaded for a pardon. The governor determined doing so was not within his power.
“The governor’s office has exhaustively looked into the legal proceedings related to Jasper the dog in Raleigh County, and the law of West Virginia is clear: it is not possible for Governor Justice to intervene,” Justice stated less than two weeks into his term.
“The governor recognizes that it is a painful situation for the families, the children, the dog, and the judges involved. No one loves animals more than Governor Justice.”
The Governor’s office has released the following statement on Jasper the dog: pic.twitter.com/l2ejmz3sYv
— Governor Jim Justice (@WVGovernor) February 2, 2017
The dog’s case went up and down the court system.
His standing in the system — and who was considered his owner — was a theme of his legal challenges.
His original owner, Raleigh County resident Brenda Jeffrey, pleaded guilty to harboring a vicious animal in 2015 and signed a Statement of Surrender, voluntarily giving up Jasper to the Humane Society of Raleigh County.
Representatives of the animal shelter tried to fight Jasper’s euthanization, contending he would be better off living at a rescue facility where he wouldn’t be around children. But judges at multiple levels of the court system concluded the shetler had no legal standing.
Jeffrey thought she had signed a form allowing Jasper to be quarantined for 10 days, but at the end of the period she was informed that she no longer had any rights to Jasper.
Hanshaw argued on her behalf that she had sacrificed her right to due process when the court system began to determine, as another phase of her case, whether to put down Jasper.
“So the dog at issue in this case has been ordered destroyed even though the criminal defendant has, before three different legal proceedings, never been offered an opportunity to put on a defense or offer testimony in support of her own property rights, and that’s not OK,” Hanshaw said last year.
Hanshaw appealed first to the state Supreme Court and then to the U.S. Supreme Court without success.
So Jasper’s run in the legal system — and his life — ended this week.
“Rest In Peace sweet Jasper,” his supporters wrote on Facebook. “Play, jump, run & have fun with the pups on the other side boy. We will never forget you.”