Major didn’t have time to understand what was happening.
On March 31, 2025, a white pickup truck hit him while he was walking with his owner, Shane Lilly, down a street in Austin, Texas. Injured and frightened, the 3-year-old Belgian Malinois bit the woman who tried to put him in a car to help him. That act changed everything. The city took him to a shelter to be observed for possible rabies and later obtained an order for his euthanasia, arguing that he poses a threat to public safety.
More than 545 days have passed since then. Major lives in isolation in Kennel 600, an area for dogs involved in court cases or in quarantine. Lilly insists he is no ordinary pet: he says Major is his service dog and helps him with a traumatic brain injury and a seizure disorder. He lost an appeal in February 2026, and in August the Texas Supreme Court refused to revive the case. His new lawyers sued the city for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act, and federal judge David Alan Ezra temporarily blocked the euthanasia.
On September 29, the judge said that within 10 days he would decide whether to order an independent evaluation to determine if Major can be rehabilitated and released without posing a risk. He also said he sees no villains, only people trying to do the right thing. A petition to save him has already surpassed 54,000 signatures. Can a dog be punished with death for biting while injured and in pain, or does public safety come first?