A dog named Bruce, a Great Pyrenees mix whose owners have been fighting court euthanization orders and has been housed at a Camarillo animal shelter for months, is scheduled to be euthanized on Aug. 12, according to Ventura County Animal Services.
Bruce was ordered to be put down after attacking four people.
“Out of respect for Bruce’s owner, VCAS will not be releasing details regarding scheduling or specific arrangements,” said Randy Friedman, spokesman for Ventura County Animal Services, in an email. “We want to ensure their privacy is respected during this time.”
Attorney Dan Bolton, who is representing Bruce's owners, said in an email on Aug. 11 that he filed a request for emergency relief for Bruce.
“Plaintiffs do not ask this court to release
Bruce, transfer Bruce, place Bruce in the community, or decide whether the Ventura County Superior Court’s dangerous dog determination was correct,” according to the filing. “Plaintiffs ask only that Bruce remain alive in the custody of Ventura County Animal Services pending further order of this court.”
The Ninth Circuit court could act "at any time" on the emergency stay request, Bolton said.
On May 6,the dog was set to be euthanized after a judge denied an appeal in Ventura County Superior Court. The judge upheld an earlier county decision to put down the dog after he attacked four people, including one person who suffered multiple bite wounds and required sutures.
Bruce’s owners have said his past behavior was uncharacteristic of the dog.
In May, owner Claire Birgy said Bruce is a large dog and “needed a lot more space and it was just a series of unfortunate events for him that all culminated in him being really overprotective.”
A U.S. District Court temporarily stayed the euthanization order while Bruce’s owners pursued additional legal challenges.
On Aug. 6, the district court denied an emergency application seeking to prevent enforcement of the Superior Court order and determined it lacked jurisdiction over Bruce’s owners’ claims against Ventura County and Ventura County Animal Services.
The temporary stay was lifted and animal services said it will comply with the order.
“Bruce will be humanely euthanized” on Aug. 12 and his owners have been notified, according to the release.
Bolton said an appeal was filed on Aug. 6, but a date has not been set for oral argument.
A Change.org petition to release Bruce to the Santa Paula Animal Rescue Center has nearly 4,400 signatures.
Ventura County Animal Services has received questions about transferring Bruce to a rescue or sanctuary but “contrary to what has been circulated online, that alternative was not an option approved by the Superior Court in this case,” according to the release.
“We have compassion for Bruce and for those who care about him, just as we have compassion for those who were injured,” according to the release. “Our responsibility is to follow the law, comply with court orders, and fulfill our mandate to protect the community.”
In the news release, animal services detailed Bruce’s bite history. According to the agency, Bruce was involved in four incidents between February 2024 to February 2026.
On Feb. 1, 2024, Bruce bit a male minor on the lips while the child was walking past him and helping the dog owners move in Ventura, causing what the agency described as “severe disfiguring lacerations,” according to animal services.
On Sept. 16, 2025, Bruce was tied to a pole outside of CVS on Thompson Boulevard in Ventura and attacked an adult male walking past him. The attack was described as unprovoked and resulted in multiple bite wounds to the knee, chest and forearm that required sutures.
On Nov. 4, 2025, a woman was walking through her apartment complex in Oxnard when Bruce bit her on the forearm as she passed him and his owner. She required surgery and skin grafts.
Wes Woods II covers West County for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at wesley.woodsii@vcstar.com, 805-437-0262 or @JournoWes.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Ventura County Animal Services schedules euthanasia for Bruce the dog
