RIVER VALE — A 14-month*-old service dog accused of biting the nose of a 6 year old will be the subject of a municipal court hear*ing next week to determine whether the German shepherd is a vicious animal.

Ava is a service dog for 9-year*-old cancer patient Molly Kimball, trained to prevent Molly from falling whenever she shows signs of dizziness — a symptom caused by tumors inside her brain. Ac*cording to Doug Anton, an attor*ney retained by Molly’s parents, this was the first time the pooch has ever been accused of biting someone.

“This was a true accident,” An*ton said. “The highly trained ani*mal should not suffer, and more importantly, Molly, who relies on this animal after having six brain surgeries, and relies on the animal tremendously, should not suffer. This dog has become part of her family.”

The incident occurred in March, when Ava allegedly lunged towards Isabelle Gern*hardt, who lives next door to Mol*ly and her parents, Paul and Patri*cia. The dog bit Isabelle’s face and she sustained a large gash that starts on her forehead and runs down the bridge of her nose.

“The young lady next door, af*ter a year of knowing the dog, has a game of hide-and-seek [with Ava] and hid behind her mom’s legs,” Anton said. “The dog is trained to give a little kiss or lick when they find the person. It’s a weird situation. The dog was get*ting close, and was on a leash at*tached to a choker collar.”

its a bit of he said, she said, there is no doubt that the little girl was bitten, and the owners have admitted it was there dog, but claim the choker forced the mouth to close, i dont know, i think ava should be retired and given to an adult only house with gsd experience

After their puppy socialisation they move to the West Sussex Training Centre and our Advanced Trainers take over!
When our pups come into Advanced Training, at about 14 months old, we will then tailor-make their training to the needs of each individual. Training takes from 4-6 months

If the dog is just 14 months old now, she has become an "established member of the family"? What age was she placed at? Her age leapt out at me as well. Wonder is it a misprint

It was said on the other forum that perhaps she isn't from an agency - the family had trained her themselves.. but the child she assists is only 9 and 9 year olds get attached easy.