"He's family," said Kelly Walker, who has had Spork since he was a puppy.

Kelly and her husband Tim are fighting a ticket they received charging them with owning a vicious dog.

“Once we were holding that ticket we felt it was a death sentence for our pet so we vowed to fight it as hard as we could,” said Tim.

In August, the Walker’s said Spork bit a veterinary technician during an exam at Jasper Animal Hospital in Lafayette. As a result of the attack, the Walkers said both the vet tech who was bitten and the veterinarian of the animal hospital filed reports with animal control.

If the Walkers are found guilty of owning a vicious dog Spork could be euthanized or kenneled.

“I went to that vet thinking they were trained to take care of my dog properly,” said Kelly.

According to state law in Colorado, a dog owner is not liable for a dog bite if the person bitten is a vet, groomer or anyone who works closely with animals.

But city of Lafayette is asserting home-rule exception, which means they do not have to follow state law.

“This speaks to the people of Lafayette,” said Jennifer Edwards, of The Animal Law Center. “Be warned about going to vet care centers, groomers, because if your dog bites it could face euthanasia.”

7News contacted Jasper Animal Hospital to get their response to this situation. The veterinarian said he will not comment until he sees court documents Tuesday.

For some perspective on dogs and the law, Denver uses the home-rule law to ban pit bulls even though state law says breed-specific bans are illegal.

There is even an online petition to save Spork.