News From the Crime Blotter

--> -- Man To Go on Trial For Biting Dog

SAN FRANCISCO

A San Francisco man who bit hisdog as part of a “primal” training regime has been ordered tostand trial on felony charges of animal cruelty.

Furniture mover Steven Maul, 24, allegedly forced his80-pound Labrador puppy “Boo” to the ground on two separateoccasions to administer nips to the neck as part of anunorthodox discipline system.

“Nothing here was cruel or hurtful,” Maul’s attorney,Jasper Monti, told Tuesday’s San Francisco Chronicle after ajudge ordered Maul to stand trial on the charges. “My client infact has French kissed his dog. My client is very oral.”

Witnesses described Boo as yelping wildly as Maul bit himon the neck. In both cases they called authorities tointercede.

Maul has described the bites as part of “nature’s way” ofdog training by harnessing evolutionary models of packbehavior. He has denied that his bites draw blood, leave amark, or cause pain. “There’s no hurting involved,” he told onereporter. “It’s communicating to the dog that you aredominant.”

Boo is being cared for by the Association for thePrevention of Cruelty to Animals. Maul, who said he spent some $4,500 earlier this year onmedical treatment for Boo after he was hit by a car, hassuggested that prosecutors are barking up the wrong tree indepicting him as an animal abuser.

“He was the one who finished my burritos and drank out ofmy water glass,” Maul said of Boo. “I miss him constantly.”

Robbers Be Damned

CANTON, Ohio

Agents believe the men fled when they heard the surprisedcustomer outside the United Bank on Thursday, said MitchellMarrone, who heads the FBI office in Canton.

The woman was about to enter the lobby of the bank when shelooked across the parking lot and saw two men wearing stocking capmasks. Although she saw no weapon, she alerted bank employees whocalled police.