INDIANAPOLIS — On Sept. 7, 2024, a 3-year-old Cane Corso named Kallie was at home with a dog sitter.
Court documents say Kallie attacked the woman, reportedly unprovoked. The woman was hospitalized with "at least seven total severe lacerations which required numerous stitches," according to those same documents.
"I understand the nature of what happened and what was at risk," said the dog's owner, who asked to remain anonymous. "I get that she hurt somebody. We are not minimizing that."
The owner said she received a ticket from the animal control officer that day, but the dog stayed at the home for several more days.
Officers asked for the owner's identification and confirmed Kallie was up to date on her vaccines, according to the owner.
"That was that," the owner said. "He said he hadn't talked to the victim yet, so he'd be in contact."
On Sept. 11, the family was informed Kallie would be taken into Indianapolis Animal Care Services, due to the severity of the bites.
"The warrant didn't say they're taking her in to hold her indefinitely," said the owner.
Four days later, however, Kallie was euthanized.
"We didn't know this was going to happen," said the owner. "We didn't think this could ever happen."
On Sept. 15, the owner said she was issued a citation and a letter that said Kallie had been impounded by IACS.
"'We are not giving Kallie back today.' That was the exact quote of the officer that we spoke to on Sunday regarding Kallie," said the owner.
At the same time, the owner was requested to appear in court on Oct. 21 for three code violations.
"We asked directly, 'So [Kallie] will be in here at least until Oct. 21?' They said, 'Yes,'" the owner said.
The family allegedly offered IACS video evidence of the incident several times, but Kallie's owner said her messages went unanswered.
After several days, "I went up there demanding answers," the owner said.
A representative at IACS told the owner the "notice of impound" meant Kallie had become property of the city.
A spokesperson for IACS told 13News:
"Once an animal becomes the property of the city (after the hold period or served letter), we have no obligation to release information on the outcome of the animal outside of a public information request, though we may do so in some cases."
IACS confirmed to 13News that Kallie was euthanized on Sept. 15, the same day the family was made aware of the impoundment.
"I just burst out in tears," said the owner. "I couldn't think. I was just in tears. I was devastated."
IACS shared this statement, which was also sent to the dog's family:
“IACS has determined that due to the severe nature of the attack which included repeated bites, as well as the owner’s statement to the ACO that Kallie has been getting more aggressive with each heat cycle, that the return of this animal would likely result in further ongoing violations of the Revised Code.”
On the day of the attack, according to court documents, the victim was "concerned about what may happen to the dog and advised that she was friendly to everyone else."
"We had not had any other interactions with [Kallie] or the owner prior to this," said an IACS spokesperson.
Kallie's owner said, while it's too late for her family, she hopes other families will receive more transparency and clarity in the future.
"I would just encourage people to ask questions," said the owner. "Animal Control has just done a terrible job of informing us of what's happening. We've never been through this. We have questions. We don't know what's going on."
She asked of IACS, "Please have some empathy for the community that you serve and try to make the effort of educating pet owners when things like this happen."
