Hanover city authorities on Monday announced that a Staffordshire Terrier mixed-breed canine had been euthanized after autopsy results showed it had mauled its owner and her son to death earlier this month.

Hanover city spokesman Udo Möller said euthanizing the dog was the only way forward due to its "aggressiveness." He noted that the canine had to be isolated in custody due to a "lack of socialization."

Read more: Do animals mourn their dead?

Earlier this month, a 52-year-old woman and her 27-year-old son were found dead after their Staffordshire Terrier named "Chico" mauled them. The woman's daughter alerted police after seeing her brother's lifeless body through a window.

Firefighters responding to the incident captured the dog upon breaking into the flat. Chico was placed in custody pending an investigation.

Autopsy results released on Friday showed that Chico was responsible for their deaths, prompting authorities to propose the canine be euthanized.

Activists fight back

But for many, putting Chico down wasn't an option. A petition on Change.org urging authorities to forgo euthanasia gathered nearly 290,000 signatures, with activists calling for Chico to be handed over to a team of independent veterinarians.

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Chico's case wasn't the only dog mauling incident to shock the German public this month. Last week, a mixed-breed canine believed to be part Staffordshire Terrier was taken into custody after in connection to the death of a 7-month-old baby.

The deaths have fueled a public debate in Germany on whether dog owners, especially those in possession of potentially-dangerous canines, should carry licenses.

Some states have started moving in this direction. Lower Saxony, where Hanover is based, introduced its test for prospective dog owners in 2013. Nominally at least, any dog owners who acquired their pet after July 2011 are supposed to complete the course, whatever the canine's breed.

10 dog breeds that originated in Germany Great Dane No, not Danish. These gentle giants are actually German. They're the result of German royals breeding ever-larger hunting companions in the 17th century. Great Danes are the world's largest dog breed — pictured above is the world's tallest dog from 2013. Germans today call them "Deutsche Dogge," a linguistic reference to the canine's British ancestors from the 16th century.

10 dog breeds that originated in Germany American Eskimo This dog suddenly became "American" after World War I, when the US dropped all references to its German origin. A territorial yapper, it became famous as a comic sidekick in US circus acts. Though the American Kennel Club calls this dog a unique breed, the Federation Cynologique Internationale (FCI) in Belgium disagrees. They say it remains what it has always been: a German Spitz.

10 dog breeds that originated in Germany Boxer In the 1800s, three men in Munich bred a bulldog with a breed of unknown origin, and continued that experiment for a few more generations. The result is a dog with one of the most instantly recognizable faces in the canine world, one still defined by German guidelines written in 1902. The origin of the name "boxer" remains a mystery, though.

10 dog breeds that originated in Germany Dachshund "Dachs" means badger, while dachshund dogs were bred to hunt. Even today, these canines, often called wiener dogs in English, still enjoy burrowing — but also biting. A 2008 study showed 20 percent of domesticated dachshunds have bitten strangers. German Emperor Wilhelm II owned one, and when he visited Austria's Archduke Franz Ferdinand, it attacked and killed the archduke's golden pheasant.

10 dog breeds that originated in Germany Munsterlander (small and large) Small Munsterlanders (pictured) owe their revival in 1902 to a German named Edmund Löns, who saw in the neglected breed a fine-tuned hunting ability and a beautiful coat. They're the smallest of the German pointer/setter dogs, but, confusingly, are not at all related to large Munsterlanders. Small Munsterlanders are hard to come by, as high breeding standards keep them relatively scarce.

10 dog breeds that originated in Germany Weimaraner With their silver coats, piercing eyes and biological need for human affection, what's not to love about Weimaraners? They were first bred in Weimar, the city of thinkers and poets, as a gun dog that was also family-friendly — a rarity. So beloved was the breed that, prior to shipping them abroad, they were sterilized in the hope that they'd remain exclusive to the German empire. But they didn't.

10 dog breeds that originated in Germany Doberman pinscher A half-day's walk from Weimar, in the town of Apolda, a court clerk named Karl Friedrich Louis Dobermann had a problem. It was the late 1800s, and as a tax collector and officer, he needed protection during his night duties. Fortunately, he also ran the local pound. Through the crossbreeding of Weimaraners, pinschers and pointer dogs, he created the guard dog we now call the Doberman pinscher.

10 dog breeds that originated in Germany Schnauzer Schnauzers are so closely related to pinschers that the two are considered a single group by the international dog authority, the FCI. In southern Germany, schnauzers served primarily as stall dogs, catching rats and mice. Since rodents have sharp teeth, the dogs' ears and tails were trimmed to protect them from bites. Today, "cropping" and "docking" are illegal in much of the EU and in Australia.

10 dog breeds that originated in Germany Rottweiler They protected cattle and wagons carrying meat, scared away thieves and wild animals — rottweilers were a medieval trader's fiercely loyal companion. And they were fierce. They were bred in Rottweil, Germany, a former trade center, to protect goods at all cost. Their jaws are the strongest of any dog, with 328 pounds of bite pressure (149 kilograms).

10 dog breeds that originated in Germany German shepherd A dog named "Horand von Grafrath" is the pretentious first entry in the Breed Registry of the Club of German Shepherds in 1899. After World War I, the English rechristened them Alsatians, the US dropped the word German altogether, and for decades Australia banned them on fears they'd breed with dingoes. Their use by the Nazis further darkened their reputation: Over his lifetime, Hitler owned six. Author: Conor Dillon



ls/msh (dpa, AFP)