City authorities euthanize ‘dangerous dog’ as legal battle continues | New

City of Elk Grove staff announced Oct. 28 that authorities had euthanized Zeus, a 16-month-old German Shepherd they had detained for three months after he allegedly bit two people, including an Elk police officer. Groves.

Zeus was brought to the city’s animal shelter in July after biting the officer when authorities checked whether his owner was meeting their requirements to keep a dog they deemed dangerous.

In May, Zeus allegedly bit a pedestrian who was walking near his owner’s house. The dog’s owner claimed he was trying to protect her after being startled by the stranger’s presence.

“This has been a difficult situation for everyone involved, and the city does not take this action lightly,” city staff said in their announcement regarding the dog’s death.

They defended their decision to euthanize Zeus as a matter of maintaining public safety.

“While some members of the public called on the city to consider alternatives to euthanasia, the dog’s established bite history and dangerous propensities posed too great a risk to the public safety of this community, or any other community to which the animal could have been moved,” they said.

Faryal Kabir, who owns the dog with her sister Gehsal, brought their plight to public attention in September when she pleaded with the Elk Grove City Council to stop the planned euthanasia of Zeus. A Sacramento Superior Court judge earlier denied a stay of the dog’s scheduled execution that month.

“My Zeus is like my child – he is like my son. I have no children, I am not married,” Kabir told the Council emotionally at their September 14 meeting. amazing, kind, compassionate soul who doesn’t deserve to die and deserves to live.”

Kabir was taken into custody by Elk Grove police and hospitalized after threatening to kill herself upon learning of her dog’s death, the Sacramento Bee reported. This is the second time she has been placed on suicide watch in October.

His attorney, Christine Kelly, told the Citizen on Nov. 1 that her client’s federal lawsuit against the city would continue in court.

“The city is setting a precedent – they’re saying, ‘Go ahead and appeal our administrative decision, we’ll kill your dog anyway, even if there’s an appeal,'” she said in an email. mail. “The city also says they have no interest in accepting and receiving facts into evidence, and no interest in the legal process.”

Kabir’s federal lawsuit alleges that city animal control personnel violated Kabir’s constitutional rights by seizing his dog without a warrant in July and failing to proceed properly in city hearings on Zeus.

Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen was also named a defendant in the case since Kabir’s legal opposition held her responsible for ensuring the city’s laws are constitutional. The lawsuit also included an offer from Rocket Dog Rescue to take Zeus into custody at their sanctuary in Oakland.

On November 1, Kelly filed an objection in federal court that challenged the city’s description of Zeus’ euthanasia as “humane.” She said the act of euthanasia is meant to be the painless killing of a patient with a painful or incurable disease.

In September, Kabir’s federal trial allowed a judge to temporarily suspend euthanasia of the dog in September. Hon. Troy Nunley of the Eastern District Court of California later lifted the stay since Kabir also had an active lawsuit against the city in Sacramento Superior Court.

In superior court, Kabir sues the city and animal control officer Crystal Mocek for allegedly mishandling the seizure of Zeus.

The city’s legal defense countered that Kabir failed to meet the 30-day deadline to meet the city’s requirements for the management of Zeus, which included enrollment in an obedience school, leash control of three feet and taking out liability insurance.

After officers arrived at Kabir’s home on July 15 for a compliance check, they escorted his dog on a leash to an animal control truck. In one incident recorded by an officer’s camera, the dog quickly approached and bit the leg of an officer who was standing in the street. Kabir then pulled him back and accompanied him to the vehicle. City attorneys reported that the officer’s pants were torn and he was injured.

Andrew Shalaby, Gehsal’s attorney, claimed the dog was agitated during the situation and smelled the animal control vehicle, which he described as an “animal death wagon”. He mentioned that German Shepherds are known to be protective of their owners and that Zeus went into defensive mode when officers approached him.

Shalaby also claimed that a police body camera recorded Mocek admitting that she could not take Zeus by Kabir’s deadline for a compliance check. In the lawsuit, he wrote that Kabir’s actual deadline for compliance was July 20, since the city’s notice was mailed to him and state law requires a deadline extension of five days for mailed notices.

In the federal case, the city defense argued that Zeus was a dangerous animal. In her statement filed in federal court, the city’s animal services officer, Sarah Humlie, wrote that the dog exhibited aggressive behavior at the animal shelter. She did not recommend him for adoption.

“For example, he charges at the kennel door, jumps on his hind legs and barks viciously and aggressively at the animal shelter staff,” she wrote.

Kelly told the Citizen that Kabir’s federal lawsuit against the city will have a hearing this month.

“Elk Grove has complete disregard for the constitution and the rights of its citizens,” she said.