SmarterthanYou
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CASTLE ROCK, Colo. — More than two years after a police K-9 attacked their 2-year-old daughter during her birthday party, Nick and Bethany Dean are speaking publicly about the lasting toll the incident has taken on their family, including a legal case that ended in acquittal for the dog's handler and medical debt the family says has reached nearly $300,000.
The attack happened Aug. 11, 2024, during a party for the couple's twins, who were turning 2. According to Nick Dean, he was standing on the deck of the family's home talking with friends when he noticed a dog climbing the fence from a neighboring yard.
"I noticed the dog had started to climb the fence," Dean said. "In an instant, the dog climbed our fence and immediately went for my daughter."
The dog, a Belgian Malinois named Ragnar, was an active-duty Jefferson County Sheriff's Office K-9 belonging to a deputy who lived next door.
Dean said he ran to intervene. "I sprinted down the stairs and landed on the dog, put my hands in its jaws, and just pried with every muscle in my body," he said.
Bethany Dean was inside the home at the time. "I was actually upstairs inside, so I didn't witness it, and I'm really thankful for that, but I heard screaming, and I looked out the window, and I remember feeling dread that something bad happened out there," she said. "My friend came running inside and said the dog bit Lily."
Lily suffered a broken femur in the attack. Nick Dean suffered injuries to his chest, back, and hip while trying to pull the dog off his daughter.
The deputy who owned the dog faced two misdemeanor charges of unlawful ownership of a dangerous dog causing injury. A Douglas County jury found the deputy not guilty after his defense argued he was immune from prosecution under state law because he was considered to be performing his duties as a K-9 handler, even while at home.
"We trusted the process; we believed that a child could have lost their life, so surely someone was gonna step up to the plate to help," Nick Dean said.
Following the acquittal, the Deans said their outlook shifted. "That quickly turned to fear because we are on the hook for almost $300,000 in medical bills and still battling to find healing for my body that we haven't found a solution to yet," he said.
The attack happened Aug. 11, 2024, during a party for the couple's twins, who were turning 2. According to Nick Dean, he was standing on the deck of the family's home talking with friends when he noticed a dog climbing the fence from a neighboring yard.
"I noticed the dog had started to climb the fence," Dean said. "In an instant, the dog climbed our fence and immediately went for my daughter."
The dog, a Belgian Malinois named Ragnar, was an active-duty Jefferson County Sheriff's Office K-9 belonging to a deputy who lived next door.
Dean said he ran to intervene. "I sprinted down the stairs and landed on the dog, put my hands in its jaws, and just pried with every muscle in my body," he said.
Bethany Dean was inside the home at the time. "I was actually upstairs inside, so I didn't witness it, and I'm really thankful for that, but I heard screaming, and I looked out the window, and I remember feeling dread that something bad happened out there," she said. "My friend came running inside and said the dog bit Lily."
Lily suffered a broken femur in the attack. Nick Dean suffered injuries to his chest, back, and hip while trying to pull the dog off his daughter.
The deputy who owned the dog faced two misdemeanor charges of unlawful ownership of a dangerous dog causing injury. A Douglas County jury found the deputy not guilty after his defense argued he was immune from prosecution under state law because he was considered to be performing his duties as a K-9 handler, even while at home.
"We trusted the process; we believed that a child could have lost their life, so surely someone was gonna step up to the plate to help," Nick Dean said.
Following the acquittal, the Deans said their outlook shifted. "That quickly turned to fear because we are on the hook for almost $300,000 in medical bills and still battling to find healing for my body that we haven't found a solution to yet," he said.
