MCSO inmate 'Mickey the pit bull' transferred to medicalfacility

PHOENIX (KPHO/KTVK) -

A dog that garnered heavy media attention after mauling a 4-year-old Phoenix boy was conditionallyreleased from jail on Wednesday and transferred to a medical facility, where he will remain incaptivity.

An attorney for "Mickey the pit bull" said the reasoning behind the dog's release centers around hisrecent skin cancer diagnosis.

"I went back to the court and explained that Mickey would be better off in a different facility. Thejudge agreed and ordered Mickey to be moved to a new facility," Mickey's attorney John Schill said.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Mickey has been a model inmate since his incarcerationApril 29, 2014, and has shown "no signs of aggression whatsoever" since attacking Kevin Vicente inFebruary 2014 as the boy tried to take the dog's bone. Vicente has undergone extensive surgeries,had a broken jaw and lost an eye.

"Like the sheriff said, he has been a model inmate, had he not developed an illness he probablywould have remained there, but because of this illness, his cancer, we are going to have to move himto a different facility," Schill said.

Schill stressed at a media gathering on Wednesday that Mickey will not be adopted and will not begoing to someone's house.

"It is a medical facility where he will remain," Schill said. "It's a facility where he will be keptseparate from the public."

When asked whether the dog would have a live webcam page, Schill said "most likely."

The animal, who was sentenced to life, has been housed in a portion of the First Avenue Jail that wasconverted to a no-kill animal shelter in 1998.

Since then, the canine's only human companionship has come from the female inmates who havecared for him.

The case got international attention after a heated debate on social media about the cause for theattack and the fate of the pit bull.

A judge said the dog was vicious, but ruled against euthanization.

There will be tight security as Arpaio and Schill escort Mickey to the transportation hub underneaththe jail about 2 p.m., where an unmarked inmate transport van will take the dog to an undisclosedlocation.

"Mickey's attack on that little boy was enough to attract a number of death threats against the dog,"Schill says. "We don't want anymore harm to come from the situation, that includes harm to Mickeyor the people who have agreed to quietly take him, hence the need for secured transport."

Schill said there have been no death threats since Mickey has been at the MASH unit "but we wereconcerned with the move." Schill and Arpaio said there have been "some idle threats."

Arpaio formed the MASH shelter in 2000 after an animal cruelty case in which he termed theanimals the "true victims." He renovated a section of the First Avenue Jail that is now air-conditioned

and can comfortably house the animals.

http://www.fox5vegas.com/story/29161413/mcso-inmate-mickey-the-pit-bull-transferred-to-medical-facility