Phineas the dog, a golden Labrador retriever which garnered headlines both in Salem and internationally, is now dead. Phineas’s owner, Joseph Simon, announced the news via Facebook with a March 31 post. Four days before, Simon shared the yellow lab had been diagnosed with aggressive cancer.
“RIP Phineas. You were deeply loved and will be sorely missed,” Simon writes. “In the coming months and years, the story of your wonderful life and the struggles you overcame will be used to benefit thousands of your brothers and sisters. See you on the other side Little Buddy.”
During his brief life, Phineas was moved three times, “liked” by 179,000 Facebook friends, had more than $25,000 raised for his cause, was defended by four attorneys, dognapped twice and was the subject of three court hearings.
Phineas’s fame, however, will forever be rooted in controversy. The notoriety stems from a June 2012 incident during which, according to transcripts of witness testimony, he broke free of a child’s grasp and knocked a seven-year-old girl to the ground before allegedly biting her.
Former Salem Mayor Gary Brown ruled that the dog should be euthanized, and soon after the court battles and arguments began, gaining international attention and eventually landing on the front page of the New York Times.
Phineas was first declared innocent by Judge Scott Bernstein in Dent County Circuit Court in October 2013. During a contentious court battle, Judge Bernstein relied on expert testimony stating that the bite mark on the child’s abdomen did not belong to Phineas, and he was to be returned home to his family. The hitch? Phineas had been stolen from Dr. J.J. Tune’s veterinary clinic, where he was being boarded during a portion of the trial. Shortly after the verdict was announced, Phineas was returned to his family via a safe house by a faux-bearded man who did not trust cell phones, but insisted they have a landline put in for communications.
More than $25,000 was raised through Friends of Phineas by December 2013 to help move Phineas to a “new and safe home,” out of Salem, according to their donation page on youcaring.com.
Later in 2014, Iron County Judge Randall Head ruled Phineas did bite the girl during a civil case. He subsequently ordered compensation to be paid.
Simon was Phineas’s defense attorney during the controversial year-long saga. He adopted him following the legal affair and had kept him as a pet at his St. Louis home until his death.
