By Erica Solvig
The Cincinnati Enquirer

LEBANON - After threat of legal action and an e-mail campaign to county officials, a 6-month-old female Great Dane that was supposed to be euthanized at the Warren County Humane Association's shelter will instead be adopted today.

Dale Bath of Harlequin Haven Great Danes and St. Bernard Rescue will take the puppy home this morning. The Bethel woman had heard that the dog had shown aggressive tendencies during a temperament test, but felt it was a misdiagnosis.

"That puppy's not aggressive - she's terrified," Bath said.

The shelter - under investigation for allegations that cats had been killed prematurely - felt it was a liability risk to adopt out a dog that could attack children or adults, according to the association's executive director, Mari Lee Schwarzwalder.

When Harlequin Haven and the Great Dane Rescue of Ohio heard this week the dog was to be killed, they started e-mailing county officials and even considered filing for a legal injunction to stop the death.

The Warren County Commission had received more than 30 e-mails as of Wednesday morning, according to Commissioner Pat South.

"I've never fought this hard for a dog I haven't seen a picture of," Bath said. "But my gut just said I had to do it."

The dog was spayed Wednesday, and doctors noticed a recent surgical scar on her leg. That might have been why the dog was sensitive to employees touching her leg, Schwarzwalder said.

"This was one dog that we felt should not have been adopted," she said, referring to the aggressive behavior. "We have hundreds of dogs that I wish people would spend that much time on adopting."

More than 30 dogs are euthanized each week, she said. The shelter had a 74 percent euthanization rate last year; the national rate is about 64 percent.

The association is hoping to fund a $2.8 million expansion, which would more than double the shelter's space and allow it to keep more animals longer.

E-mail esolvig@enquirer.com