A dog named Cowgirl has become an issue of dispute between her former owner and animal rescue activists in the two months since she was brought to the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri.

Cowgirl, a 4-year-old American pit bull terrier, was picked up Aug. 11 in East Cape Girardeau, Ill., and that's where the story gets dicey.

Pit bull activist and Humane Society volunteer Melanie Coy said the dog's injuries indicated she had been mistreated, neglected and may have been used in organized dogfights.

Seth Peters, who says he had owned Cowgirl for four days before she ended up at the Humane Society in Cape Girardeau, denies the dog was ever used for fighting and that her injuries and scars were due to an attack she suffered in July while trying to protect her puppies. After that incident, she was treated at an after-hours clinic, and the veterinarian who examined her never reported any suspicion that the animal had been used in organized fighting.

Coy said Cowgirl's wounds were a mixture of what appeared to be fresh injuries and older scars, indicating they had not all occurred as a result of one fight, but rather over time.

Coy, who helps coordinate animal rescues and performs temperament evaluations for the Humane Society, said staff members made repeated attempts to verify who owned Cowgirl but kept getting conflicting stories.

Peters, who produced a breed registry certificate dated Aug. 7 listing him as Cowgirl's owner, said when he and his wife left for work Aug. 11, Cowgirl was inside. When they returned home, she was gone.

He believes the dog may have been stolen from his house. He learned from a neighbor that the dog had been taken to the Humane Society in Cape Girardeau, he said.

Coy said the person who deposited Cowgirl at the Humane Society had found the dog running around East Cape Girardeau and taken her to the shelter.

Peters said he made several attempts to get his dog back and was told there was a "hold" on her because of East Cape Girardeau's ordinance prohibiting dangerous dog breeds. They also told him there would be an investigation, but no charges were ever filed.

"East Cape didn't want the dog returned to city limits," Coy said.

Coy said she recommended to the Humane Society, acting on advice from Cape Girardeau animal control personnel, that Cowgirl not be returned to East Cape Girardeau and Peters.

"There was cause to worry that she had been used as a fighting animal, and they have an obligation to protect the animal," Coy said.

Peters, upset at having the dog taken from him and the allegations that she had been mistreated, said he may pursue a lawsuit over the matter.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

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