Marguerite Derdenger 1945

1742 West Sixth Street, Los Angeles.

 Jealous of his mistress's affection for her 21 month old daughter, a female pet bull terrier turned on the child that had been his playmate and killed her. The bulldog, named Woof, grabbed the baby by her neck and crushed her spine and skull before her mother, Mrs. Drusillia Derdenger, could loosen the grip of his teeth. 

A Tragic End to a Young Life:

The tragedy occurred while the family was in the living room of the apartment of Mr. and Mrs. Albert F. Lange. Mrs. Derdenger, was the wife of staff sergeant Charles P. Derdenger stationed at Camp Berkeley Texas.  Mrs. Derdenger and baby were staying with her parents, since the baby's father left for the army. Shortly before 7pm, Mrs. Derdenger said she had been lying on the floor while her father massaged her back for pain relief after she had made a complaint about the pain. Woof made playful overtures and tried to lick her face. She had just sharply ordered the pooch away. Little Marguerite Theresa toddled over to her mother and began to lay her tiny hands on her mother and began to rub too. The laughing child, trying to emulate her grandfather, sought to stroke the dog's back, when Marguerite attempted to stroke the dog's back, he snarled and lunged at her without warning, clamping his jaws down and sinking his fangs into the base of her neck. Mrs. Derdenger and the child's grandfather,  Albert Lange, fought for several frantic minutes to loosen the growling dog's grip, but when the child was finally freed it was too late. 

The dog gave Drusilla and her father a few slight bites in retaliation and then immediately after loosening its grip on the baby, the dog rushed under a bureau in a stairway hall and refused to come out despite repeated entreaties until officers of the City Humane Department arrived to take it to the West Ann Street Shelter. They had to rope the dog to remove it from the hiding place. The child was rushed across the street to Dr. Gilbert R. Owen, 1800 West Sixth Street, who pronounced her dead. Doctors said that when Woof bit the child through the base of her skull, the child died almost instantly. The autopsy photo of the child, below, reveals a large gash in the back of her head, caused by the dog's sharp fangs.

Mrs. Derdenger said she had the dog for five years and that the dog had not been too friendly with the baby but never before was vicious. She said the dog had however, shown some jealousy toward the child, but had been gentle with the baby and never before had hurt her. She believed the dog had become jealous of the family's attention to the child.

 

A Dog's Sentence:

Woof, the 45lb Staffordshire bull terrier, was ordered killed by grief stricken Mrs. Derdenger. Authorities said they would comply after holding the tan and white dog for 10 days for rabies observation since it had bitten Mrs. Derdenger and Mr. Lange. Confined at an animal shelter, the dog cringed when anyone spoke to it and groveled on the floor. Meek, obviously remorseful, Woof sat behind strong iron bars like a criminal at the shelter. She kept her tail between her legs and shook nervously not knowing where she was. Over the door of her cell, was her official "death warrant" signed by Mrs. Derdenger. Shelter staff said that Woof looked as if she once had pups, but the Derdengers said that the terrier never had babies of her own.

Bert Morse, Superintendent of the Shelter, said that "there is no question but what she knows the thing she has done," observing the dog's behavior. "Woof, true enough, is fully aware of what she did. She is stricken with remorse, just as would be a human. Dogs register emotions just like human beings do, sometimes they sulk and won't eat and rarely, as in this case, they become vicious."

Mrs, Derdenger insisted on being present when the animal is put to death in a gas chamber. "Woof was my dog, but she killed my baby daughter, and I want her put to death," said the mother. "I want to see that she is put out of the way so that there will be no slipup and I am sure the dog is not passed on to another family where there are children. I don't want another tragedy like this to happen."

Charles Derdenger arrived home by plane on emergency ten day furlough from Camp Berkeley the next day. Speaking on the tragedy, he said "It's horrible. I can't believe that it happened." When asked if he agreed with his wife's decision to have Woof put down, Sgt Derdenger replied "I really haven't thought about it. All I've been concerned with is my wife's health." The couple disclosed that Mrs. Derdenger had been under the care of a doctor, the same doctor from across the street.

Speaking to the press later, he did agree to her decision and said that "Yes, this must never happen again." The Derdengers were so grief stricken over the death of their only child that they said "that we don't know what we're doing. Monday, after we have recovered from the ordeal of the funeral, we're going to sit down quietly and think this thing out." The Derdengers said they had received more than 100 letters begging them to lift the death penalty on their pet. "We're so upset we haven't even opened all the letters yet. We want to bury Marguerite first and then maybe we can think this thing out."

Save Woof:

Animal lovers protested the animal's scheduled execution. The shelter received telephone calls every thirty seconds throughout the day from persons deploring the destruction of the dog. Some callers argued the dog was goaded into jealousy by the baby's usurping her position as family pet. Others said the fact that Woof killed once did not mean she would repeat the act and sharply criticized the death sentence. One woman bitterly declared that she was "starting a movement" to spare the terrier's life, she called "Save Woof.". Circulation of a petition was threatened as hundreds of people pleaded for the life of Woof. No organized animal groups planned to interfere with Woof's execution, however. 

Bert Morse's desk started piling high with letters from people all over the country asking him to spare the dog. Many people offered to take the dog and branded Woof's death sentence as "pitiful", "inhuman" or "revolting.".. From Salina, Kansas, came a telegram to Police Chief CB Horrall saying "Please send dog. Pay all expenses. Sure would like to have him." it was signed Eddie Staab. A Cheyenne, Wyoming woman offered to come and get the dog if Derdenger would spare Woof, "whose instincts led her astray." Residents of a farm near Grand Canyon, Arizona asked for the dog "because there are only three people here and there's no one she could hurt." Ted Wice, head of a Miami sales corporation, asked for Woof to be a guard for his invalid, elderly mother. Another letter suggested that Woof's murderous instincts could be turned to military advantage in the K-9 Corps.

To all these requests, Bert Morse, replied that the death sentence had been ordered by the dog's owner and dead baby's mother, Drucilla. He explained that it was perfectly within her rights and there is nothing they could do about it. "We have had many calls from persons who want to save the dog, but we will abide by the owner's wishes." He stated that he had never heard of a similar case in his 17 years experience. But Morse had another worry, "I hope", he said seriously, "that the hysteria over this unusual tragedy won't cause a lot of people to get rid of faithful and gentle pets."

Morse tried to put the public at ease, stating how the execution was going to be performed and letting them know Woof would not suffer,. "The dog will be placed in an airtight chamber. Then the chamber is closed, carbon monoxide gas is piped in via an automobile motor, and in less than two minutes, it will all be over - painlessly." 

The public was not swayed. Grady C. Terry, a Fountain Avenue café owner said that he called and consulted with two judges at the Superior Court in an attempt to get an injunction to stay the execution of Woof and asked how he could obtain a restraining order to halt the execution. The court refused to grant any order not presented in proper form and advised him to retain an attorney. "common law says "every dog has his day in court", Well, we're going to see that this dog gets her day," he said.

He did just as suggested, and started legal proceedings to see that Woof has "her day in court." Terry later said that he and his wife have no children, but are the owners of two cocker spaniels, and as dog lovers, want to see Woof spared. He said they could provide her a good home. He said that if he could keep  Woof from being killed, he thought maybe the Army might be interested in having her, and if not, he'd be glad to keep her for himself.

Scores of the curious and interested flocked to the animal shelter to see Woof in her cage on death row. A number offered to adopt the dog, and almost all had a suggestion about saving her from the gas chamber.

Several people tried to get a reprieve for the dog, but it was denied. The death order for Woof was ruled legal by Deputy City Attorney Lester Lev.'s office although several persons had asked that the animal be saved. Lev declared that "The owner of a dog has a legal right to order the animal's death." Authorities said that the owners were the only ones who could grant the dog a reprieve. 

Grady Terry was unsuccessful in getting a writ of habeas corpus, when the court ruled that the dog was personal property and not subject to habeas corpus action. Undeterred, the so-called "friend of all dogs" said that he and his attorney would carry the appeal to the governor and ask Warren to find some way of giving Woof a reprieve. The council also declined to hear a protect from the president of the California Federation for the Protection of Children and Animals.  

Though the Derdengers said they would reconsider their demand for the dog's execution, they eventually refused to rescind their death sentence for Woof. "We are not having Woof put to sleep in a spirit of vindictiveness. We have known her since a pup and know of her love and devotion to the entire family. But we would never have found peace of mind as long as the dog remained alive and might have done the same thing to someone else. Knowing Woof as we do, and seeing her unprecedented act, we could never trust Woof again. Therefore, we feel the kindest act would be to have her put to sleep painlessly," the grieving father said. 

A Dog's Day in Court:

Woof was granted a last minute reprieve that promised her a day in court. On Feb 23, 1945, Superior Judge William McKay lifted the death sentence at 9pm Thursday, less than 24 hours before the dog was to be executed. He issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting the animal shelter from destroying the dog in a gas chamber until a hearing was held March 30. 

The reprieve was in the form of an order for Mrs. Derdenger to show cause why she would not be charged with violation of a state statue which prohibits killing dumb animals without just provocation. Woof's reprieve was the result of Mr. Terry's efforts to halt the execution. Terry's application for the show cause order, prepared by attorney Morris Lavine, alleged that Woof was "fit and able" and might be valuable for military service or other purposes. "We feel there is no just provocation for executing Woof," terry said.

Despite many reprieves for her life, Woof ultimately paid the price when she was euthanized on April 31, 1945. 

Editor Arthur Frederick Jones of the American Kennel Gazette said children and dogs can share the same home in safety but parents should share their attention with both to forestall canine jealousy. Commenting on the death in Los Angeles of tiny Marguerite, Jones said dogs are childlike in their need of attention and added "I think some owners ask an awful lot of a dog. Even gentle pets may resent children whose introduction into the home follows that of the animal."