MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich. – A Metro Detroit city is torn as a pit bull mix sits on death row for allegedly killing a chihuahua.
Boomer the pit bull has been locked up for the last year for a crime his supporters say he didn't commit.
"In my heart of hearts, I and everyone here thinks he was fending off something," supporter Taylor Caplan said.
Supporters claim Boomer's sentence was the result of breed stereotypes, fear and prejudice.
Caplan has gotten to know Boomer on a daily basis for the better part of a year and doesn't see a dog that would attack and kill another dog.
"He has gone past every single type of dog in our facility -- un-neutered, unfixed," Caplan said. "He's never reacted. He's never done anything wrong."
After initial tickets were handed out to Boomer's owner, Madison Heights officials determined Boomer was a danger and needed to be put down.
Celeste Dunn, an attorney for animals and the lawyer for Boomer's case, said the case, which is now headed to the state court of appeals, should never have gotten so far.
"When you have an investigating officer that is unable to say if this dog or another animal did it, how do you get beyond that?" Dunn said. "How do you then go to court when the investigating officer can't say the dog did it?"
Boomer's story is getting even more attention beyond the weekly protests. There are three billboards going up in and around Madison Heights this week.
"Madison Heights wants to kill me," the billboards say, referring to Boomer.
Danielle Bynum is behind the billboards and part of the group of citizens against breed discrimination.
"We just want Madison Heights businesses, residents to know this is happening in their community," Bynum said. "We're not stopping. We're not going away."
You can watch Jason Colthorp's full story in the video posted above.