Danville Register & Bee
Published: May 9, 2008

CHATHAM — State Sen. Robert Hurt was fined $30 Thursday in Pittsylvania County General District Court for failing to vaccinate his dog for rabies.
The charge stemmed from an incident in which the dog, a Labrador retriever named “Tapp,” allegedly bit Ernest Payne while he was walking along White Street in Chatham on Dec. 21, according to Kimberley White, commonwealth’s attorney for Halifax County.
Hurt, through his defense attorney Luis Abreu, pleaded nolo contendere, or no contest, to the charge.
Another related charge against Hurt for having a dangerous dog was dropped because Animal Control Officer Pete Boswell filed an affidavit regarding the canine on Jan. 8, several days after the Hurt family had sent the pet to relatives in Philadelphia — outside the jurisdiction.
Retired General District Court Judge Stephen Helvin imposed a $30 fine for the failure-to-vaccinate charge, half the normal $60 penalty. White asked for the reduced $30 fine because Hurt had the dog vaccinated before his court date.
Abreu told the judge that the dog was a beloved family pet and that the Hurt family agreed to pay medical expenses Payne incurred.
White said Payne, who was bit in the leg, had to go through a series of rabies shots as a precaution and “seems to be doing well.”
Hurt, a Chatham attorney, represents Virginia’s 19th Senate District, which includes Danville and Pittsylvania County.
White and Helvin, from Charlottesville, were brought in from outside the area for the case to prevent a conflict of interest — a standard practice, Hurt said.
“I was very sorry all this has happened,” he said Thursday in a telephone interview after the court case.
Hurt said he gave the dog away and that it was a hard decision.
Hurt did not appear in court Thursday.
Abreu said Hurt was representing someone in a trial in Franklin County Thursday.
Hurt said that he was not required to appear because the dog incident was a civil case and that Abreu and White agreed he didn’t need to show up.