MIDDLETON, Wis. -- The Middleton City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday night to forward the controversial dog attack case to the circuit court with the recommendation that the bull mastiff, named Igor, be euthanized.

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The decision came before a standing-room only crowd and after nearly an hour of public comment from dozens of pet owners, reported WISC-TV.

"Gary (the owner) shouldn't be allowed to have the dog back," said one woman who said she knew the dog and it's owner. "He (the owner) told me personally that he trained it to be mean to law enforcement."

"Igor is a victim too," said Peggy Zimmerman. "He wasn't brought up properly."

One week ago the bull mastiff attacked and killed a small Bedlington Terrier at a Middleton dog park.

Lohrke contends the 13-pound terrier attacked his mastiff and that his 130-pound dog was only defending itself.

"Igor is very trainable, very smart and a good dog," said Lohrke's friend Greg Brown.

"I have two little dogs who are best friends with Igor and he'd never hurt them," said Marilyn Schultz, who lives upstairs from Lohrke.

At the time of the attack, Igor, the mastiff was under a court order to be leashed and muzzled any time it was off its property.

The dog had previously bitten a woman named Michelle in 2006 as she was walking by on a public sidewalk.

"He (Lohrke) did not come and get the dog," she said. "Even as I was screaming and being bitten, he never came for the dog."

The mastiff was cited again in 2007 for biting a Golden Retriever as it was walking along a public sidewalk.

Local attorney Eric Farnsworth addressed the council saying they needed to send a message to Lohrke and others with dangerous dogs.

"I wouldn't want to be a city that under any circumstances or conditions let this animal back out again while we all held our breath for the next bite," said Farnsworth.

"I wish they didn't have to but it seems like it's really necessary to protect people. You can't just stop a dog like that," said Maggie Fulton.

Fulton's mother is the owner of the mauled dog, Lily.

She and her family agree that the situation has gone beyond their own case. The family is now pushing for change.

They would like to see more stringent rules applied to dog parks.

"I think the city should say, 'One bite and you're out of dog parks,'" said Farnsworth.

The family and Farnsworth would also like to see the attack case go further than circuit court.

"I really think they (Middleton police) have an obligation to refer this to the district attorney," said Farnsworth. "This is tantamount to criminal negligence, reckless endangerment."

Farnsworth said Lohrke was responsible for his decision to go against a court order and take his dog, unleashed and unmuzzled, to the dog park.

"If you take a known vicious animal, a large dog into a dog park where people, kids and pets are wandering around peacefully without a leash, without a muzzle, isn't the natural and probable consequence that somebody or somebody is going to get hurt?"