Benson has been granted a reprieve. The City of Goleta, which ordered the black Labrador retriever euthanized after he bit a woman and killed a puppy while off-leash, came to an agreement with the dog's owners to release Benson to Shadow's Fund in Lompoc. In exchange, Michael and Kelsey Hill have agreed to dismiss their appeal of that order and pay Benson's costs at County Animal Services.
Benson had seemed like the usual hard-wagging Labrador after being found in Buellton by the side of the 101 in 2017. He had an obvious injury to his tail when picked up, said Dori Villalon, the head of County Animal Services, and while in the kennels, he was seen biting his tail in an abnormal way. The veterinarian at the shelter amputated his tail, and staff speculated that he might have had nerve damage that caused his severe reaction.
The Hills had adopted Benson from DAWG (Dog Adoption and Welfare Group), which has a "no kill" policy and had taken Benson from Animal Control to work on his behavior of growling and biting at his tail. A Labrador retriever is a very adoptable dog, said DAWG trainer Brian Glen. It took about six months, he said, before simple distraction training enabled him to remove the cone placed around Benson's neck to keep him off his tail. He was a big Lab, high-energy, and the Hills seemed a good fit as a young, athletic couple who'd owned big dogs before. Glen said he worked with them on the dog's need for exercise, leadership, and guidance several times before they took the dog home. The Hills continued working with a private trainer, who declined to comment.