Category Archives: Court Cases

Aurelia, IA loses court case, “pit bull” service dog returned

Posted on December 29, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Many thanks to Kim for keeping us updated on this case!

Animal Farm Foundation is pleased to announce that the Honorable Judge Mark W. Bennett (http://www.iand.uscourts.gov/e-web/home.nsf/0/17a5762715fa4c52862573c90079072c?OpenDocument ) granted the motion for preliminary injunction for Snickers, a service dog, to be returned immediately to James Sak. Snickers will be returned to Officer Sak’s home in Aurelia later this afternoon.

Judge Bennett’s ruling carves an exception to the City of Aurelia’s ordinance banning “pit bull” dogs from city limits. Sak is a disabled Vietnam Veteran and retired Chicago Police Officer who depends on Snickers for his safety, mobility, and independence.

The hearing took more than two hours. Numerous people came out to support Officer Sak and Snickers, including a number of perfect strangers who drove hours to be there.

“Animal Farm Foundation is thrilled that Officer Sak will be reunited with his service dog, Snickers, and his safety will no longer be compromised. This case is a sad example of what happens when cities discriminate against dogs based on breed or appearance. Breed discriminatory legislation does nothing to enhance public safety, but it’s extremely expensive to enforce, it tears apart families, and it divides communities. Hopefully other cities will learn from this and choose alternative approaches to building safe and compassionate communities.” – Kim Wolf, Community Engagement Specialist, Animal Farm Foundation

“Today I got my peace of mind back. I hope that nobody else has to go through what we went through.” – James Sak

Animal Farm Foundation will continue to support Officer Sak with this case if the City if Aurelia appeals the decision in the United States Court of Appeals.

For additional info/interviews, please contact Kim Wolf at (845) 418-0778 or kwolf@animalfarmfoundation.org.

Recent guidance published by the federal Department of Justice regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act states that service dogs are essentially exempt from municipal breed-specific legislation. The judge in this case upheld the DoJ guidance in favor of Sak.

Note that the ADA exemption does not apply to pet dogs, therapy dogs, or any other dogs that are not employed as service dogs as defined by the ADA. However, the DoJ’s reasoning for the exemption is significant because the same reasons (dogs should be assessed as individuals, breed stereotypes are not reality, a dog’s actual behavior is more relevant than appearance, etc.) could also apply to pet dogs. Don’t count on the DoJ or any other federal entity to jump in and help pet dog owners fight BSL, though. Federal government doesn’t have the authority to create dog control laws. For pet dogs, your state and local laws will continue to apply.

Here are a few of the news articles about the outcome:
http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Judge-Allows-Pit-Bull-Disabled-Man-to-Reunite-136320353.html

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45807018/ns/today-good_news/t/despite-pit-bull-ban-man-be-reunited-service-dog/#.Tvx_etT2ZPJ

http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/judge-aurelia-iowa-couple-can-keep-pit-bull/article_60a6a734-5467-5a04-be78-7c5e49993d78.html

http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/update-judge-aurelia-iowa-couple-can-keep-pit-bull/article_266b6e60-2d8f-11e1-9c2f-0019bb2963f4.html

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/e316dc1565c14603bc6b854db11a443a/IA–Dog-Ordinance-Lawsuit/

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Posted in Court Cases, Iowa, Results of BSL

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Aurelia, IA: Breed ban violates ADA, takes veteran’s service dog

Posted on December 22, 2011 by | 1 Comment

In July 2010, the Department of Justice revised the Americans with Disabilities Act, issuing an opinion that service dogs should be excluded from local breed bans and breed restrictions.

However, some municipalities (notably, Denver) have refused to modify their breed ban to allow service dogs of banned breeds. A court case in Aurelia could set a significant precedent for other “holdout” cities like Denver.

Edit 12/22/11: An injunction against Aurelia has been filed by Mr. Sak, and the legal documents can be read here. Highly recommended reading: http://www.animalfarmfoundation.org/files/snickers_materials.pdf
“Animal Farm Foundation hopes that Officer Sak can be reunited with his service dog in time for Christmas,” said Kim Wolf, Community Engagement Specialist for Animal Farm Foundation. Thanks to Kim for keeping us in the loop!

Edit 12/26/11: The case will have a public hearing on December 28. Visit the Facebook event page for more details: http://www.facebook.com/events/267633296625390/

*** PRESS RELEASE ***

December 21, 2011
Contact: Kim Wolf, Animal Farm Foundation, Inc.
Tel: (845) 418-0778, Email: kwolf@animalfarmfoundation.org

Town Council in Iowa Forces Disabled Veteran & Retired Police Officer to Relinquish Service Dog

Legal action being pursued against City of Aurelia

Aurelia, Iowa – James Sak, 65, a disabled Vietnam Veteran and retired Chicago police officer, was forced to relinquish his service dog after the Aurelia Town Council voted December 14 to prohibit the dog, identified as a “pit bull,” from residing within Aurelia city limits. Although the City of Aurelia has breed-discriminatory laws prohibiting residents from owning “pit bulls,” the Council’s decision appears to violate 2010 guidance from the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) on breed limitations for service dogs (“Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in State and Local Government Services”).

Sak and his wife, Peggy Leifer, moved to Aurelia in November to live near Leifer’s ailing mother, an 87-year-old longtime resident of Aurelia. Sak was accompanied by his service dog, Snickers, who is certified with the National Service Animal Registry. In 2008 Sak suffered a debilitating stroke that left him permanently disabled, unable to use the right side of his body, and confined to a wheelchair. For two years Sak worked with Aileen Eviota, a physical therapist with the University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago, to improve his functional capabilities and live more independently through the use of a service dog. “Snickers has been individually trained to assist James with tasks which mitigate his disability, including walking, balance, and retrieving items around the house,” said Eviota in a letter to the Aurelia Town Council dated December 2, 2011.

Days after moving into their new home, Sak and Leifer were summoned to a Town Council meeting after a small group of citizens circulated a petition calling for the dog to be removed from city limits. Although the dog has no history of aggression or nuisance complaints, the petition urged the Council to “retain as written and without exception the existing City of Aurelia Ordinance, Chapter 58,” which prohibits ownership of “pit bull” dogs.

However, because Snickers works as a service animal for a disabled person, the dog is protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and should not be subject to the breed ban, according to 2010 guidance issued by the DOJ.

“The Department does not believe that it is either appropriate or consistent with the ADA to defer to local laws that prohibit certain breeds of dogs based on local concerns that these breeds may have a history of unprovoked aggression or attacks,” the DOJ stated in the regulation. “Such deference would have the effect of limiting the rights of persons with disabilities under the ADA who use certain service animals based on where they live rather than on whether the use of a particular animal poses a direct threat to the health and safety of others.”

On December 14 the Aurelia Town Council told Sak that he must remove his dog from city limits by the end of the day. Snickers is currently being boarded at facility outside of Aurelia.

“I lost my helper,” said Sak, who served more than 30 years in the Chicago Police Department and enlisted in the Army during the Vietnam War. “I’m not looking for special treatment, I just want to be safe, and I need my service dog for that.”

“Without the service dog here to assist, I can’t leave Jim unattended,” said Leifer. “But the whole reason we moved to Aurelia was to care for my 87-year-old mother who is ill. I drive across town to care for her three times a day. Jim has already fallen once and we had to call 911. I live in fear that he will have another stroke, or worse. We need his service dog back.”

Sak is a member of the Fraternal Order of Police – Chicago Lodge 7 (retired from the 12th District of the Chicago Police Department) and the American Legion – Post 390 of Aurelia (Vietnam Veteran, Army Signal Corps).

Sak is pursuing legal action against the City of Aurelia so he can be reunited with his service dog.

In accordance with our mission, Animal Farm Foundation is committed to assisting Sak with securing funding for this case. For more information, please contact Kim Wolf at (845) 418-0778 or kwolf@animalfarmfoundation.org.

An excellent article in the Chicago Sun-Times can be read here: http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/9566024-418/retired-chicago-cops-service-dog-not-welcome-in-iowa-town.html
More articles:
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2011/12/22/iowa-town-wont-let-retired-chicago-cop-keep-service-dog/
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/12/22/1047879/-Denied-Access-to-Service-Dog?via=recent

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Posted in Court Cases, Iowa, Results of BSL

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Midwest City, OK: Breed ban struck down

Posted on March 9, 2011 by | 1 Comment

Oklahoma state law prohibits municipalities from passing breed bans. However, Midwest City had a long-standing breed ban that included pit bulls, bull terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, and Staffordshire Bull Terriers.

A resident dog owner sued the city, and after several years of ongoing court battles (during which several lower courts ruled against the city), the state Supreme Court declined to hear the city’s appeal. Thus, the ruling against the city stands; Midwest City cannot legally ban breeds.

All alerts for Midwest City: http://stopbsl.com/?s=midwest+city

Supreme Court overturns pit bull ban

Jesse Wells, KFOR
6:29 p.m. CST, March 9, 2011

MIDWEST CITY, Okla. — A Midwest City family wins a long overdue court battle against the city. The family had been fighting for years to save their bull terrier pets. This week a state supreme court ruling ends the long legal battle.

Lower courts had previously ruled the dog ban violated state law.

This week the state supreme court refused to take up the issue, which means the Midwest City ban is now officially dead.[...]

After filing suit in 2007, Scott Adams always argued and lower court judges agreed, Oklahoma state law prohibits dog bans from being breed specific.

“It was a waste of money and time. I tried to tell everyone that from day one but the city wanted to pursue it. We defended it and won,” said the Stuckey’s attorney Scott Adams.[...]

With no more legal options, Midwest City could still lobby state lawmakers to overturn state law.

They could also draft a new, much less restrictive ordinance.

Full article retrieved 3/9/11 from http://www.kfor.com/news/local/kfor-news-pit-bull-outlaw-overturned-mwc-story,0,214449.story

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Posted in BSL Defeated, Court Cases, Oklahoma

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Denver, CO: Breed ban exceptions for service dogs may be on horizon

Posted on August 24, 2010 by | 1 Comment

After decades with ban, Denver revisits pit bulls

August 24, 2010
By Jared Jacang Maher, Face The State

Pit bulls, outlawed from Denver more than 20 years ago, will be allowed back into city limits as service animals under a proposed law being considered today by the city council’s safety committee.

Read the rest of the story here: 

http://facethestate.com/by-the-way/19263-after-decades-ban-denver-revisits-pit-bulls

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Posted in Colorado, Court Cases, Results of BSL

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Colorado: Lawsuit says Denver’s, Aurora’s bans violate civil rights under ADA

Posted on May 7, 2010 by | 1 Comment

Pit bulls as service dogs?

Lawsuit says Denver’s, Aurora’s bans violate civil rights under ADA

Jared Jacang Maher, Face the State
Friday, May 7, 2010

Both Denver and Aurora have laws banning pit bulls. [...] But what about a pit bull acting as a service animal for a disabled person? Should officials accept dogs that their own laws deem inherently unacceptable?

Good question and one that happens to be at the core of a new federal class-action lawsuit filed against Denver and Aurora by three disabled people who say the laws banning pit bulls violate their civil rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Allen Grider of Aurora and Glenn Belcher of Denver are U.S. veterans who suffer from psychological disabilities they say resulted from wartime service. Valarie Piltz is a Washington-based dog trainer with physical mobility problems and a condition that causes her to experience debilitating panic attacks. All three say the breed bans fail to make proper exemptions for their service animals of choice: pit bulls.

Story retrieved May 7, 2010 from http://www.thedenverdailynews.com/article.php?aID=8357

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Posted in Breed Identification, Colorado, Court Cases, Results of BSL

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Brampton, Ontario, Canada: Vet to decide Brampton dogs’ fate

Posted on April 15, 2010 by | Comments Off

“Pooches or pit bulls?” Since when were “pit bulls” not pooches?

Previous alerts for Brampton: http://stopbsl.com/?s=brampton

Pooches or pit bulls? Vet to decide Brampton dogs’ fate

Owners want ordeal to be over, lawyer says

Published On Wed Apr 14 2010
Madeleine White Staff Reporter

The owners of two dogs being held by the city of Brampton have agreed to bring in an independent veterinarian to determine whether or not their pooches are pit bulls.[...]

Article retrieved 4/15/10 from http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/795478–pooches-or-pit-bulls-vet-to-decide-brampton-dogs-fate

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Posted in Canada, Court Cases, Results of BSL

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Dead Dogs: Breed bans, euthanasia, and preemptive justice

Posted on April 12, 2010 by | 1 Comment

This is a powerful and thought-provoking article from the Boston Review about “pit bulls,” prejudice, breed bans, dog law, euthanasia, “humane” societies and animal control, dog fighting, and thinly veiled racism.

http://bostonreview.net/BR35.2/dayan.php

Brief excerpt below. Visit the link to read the whole article.

Dead Dogs: Breed bans, euthanasia, and preemptive justice

Colin Dayan
MARCH/APRIL 2010

…The seizures, detentions, and exterminations of pit bulls—sanctioned by laws in many states—expose the statutory logic for making preemptive justice constitutionally permissible: canine profiling supplies the terms for inclusion and ostracism, and even the suspension of due process rights. No criminal conviction of the owner is required for state seizure and destruction of property. In other words, the Constitution’s Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, which prohibit the government from depriving anyone of “life, liberty, or property, without due process of law,” can be suspended for the public good without evidence, without trial, by classification alone.

In legal rationales, realities are created. Old inequalities and radical discrimination are repackaged in unexpected forms. In breed-specific legislation, the taint and incapacity of the disenfranchised live on. At a time when our government is labeling certain persons as threats—alleged terrorists, enemy aliens, illegal immigrants, ordinary people who want to get on airplanes—we need to ask how the seizure and destruction of dogs deemed contraband becomes a medium for the intimidation and debasement of humans in turn. Who should suffer deprivation without redress so that we can live in reasonable—safe and secure—consensus? And who gets to decide?…

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Posted in Community Initiatives, Court Cases, Criminal Activity, Media Negligence, Results of BSL

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Denver, CO: Pit bull group won’t roll over

Posted on April 8, 2010 by | 4 Comments

Pit bull group won’t roll over

Says city is spending thousands enforcing, defending the city’s ban

Peter Marcus, DDN Staff Writer
Thursday, April 8, 2010

Denver continues to spend thousands of dollars paying attorneys to defend and settle lawsuits stemming from the city’s ban on pit bulls.

There are at least eight individuals who have or are currently pursuing or considering lawsuits against the city.[...] City officials have been unable to provide the Denver Daily News with a cost analysis of how much it costs to enforce the ban, stating that there is no specific line item for the enforcement, and that the cost is part of overall animal control costs.

Article retrieved on 4/8/10 from http://www.thedenverdailynews.com/article.php?aID=7978

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Posted in Colorado, Court Cases, Results of BSL

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Gold Coast, NSW, Australia: Owners spend $500k in bid to save dog

Posted on April 5, 2010 by | 2 Comments

Updated article 4/6:

Couple’s $500k dog fight down the drain

By Thomas Chamberlin
From: Gold Coast Bulletin
April 06, 2010 8:27AM

A GOLD Coast couple’s six-year $500,000 fight to have their dog Tango classified as an American staffordshire terrier, rather than an American pit bull, has failed.

Kylie Chivers and John Mokomoko took on the Gold Coast City Council in the Supreme Court over the identification of Tango in a bid to keep him due to American pit bulls being a banned breed in the region, The Gold Coast Bulletin reports.

[...]

The court ruling could have wider ramifications for thousands of dog owners, who believed their American staffordshire terriers were a different breed and not subject to the same dangerous breed by-laws.

Article retrieved 4/6/10 from http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/court-battle-to-keep-dog-alive/story-e6frf7l6-1225850203997

Owners spend $500k in bid to save dog

By Thomas Chamberlin
From: Gold Coast Bulletin
April 06, 2010 8:27AM

•Couple buy dog for $300
•’$500,000 spent’ to keep him alive
•Ruling to determine his fate

[...] Today, hundreds of thousands of dollars later, a judge is to decide Tango’s fate in a decision which could have wider ramifications for thousands of dog owners, after council lawyers argued the American pit bull and American staffordshire terrier were the same breed, meaning both were dangerous.

[...]  Along with thousands of pages of documents, the couple also obtained DNA samples from Tango’s parents and submitted a breed identification test to the court, arguing the 22-point identification checklist from southeast councils was flawed.

Article retrieved 4/5/10 from http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/court-battle-to-keep-dog-alive/story-e6frf7l6-1225850203997

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Posted in Court Cases, Outside of U.S., Results of BSL

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Denver and Aurora, CO: Disabled vets file discrimination suit due to “pit bull” bans

Posted on April 1, 2010 by | 3 Comments

Update 4/4: Great article on the importance of service dogs to veterans: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/04/us/04dogs.html

Note that one veteran’s dog was seized after being misidentified as a “pit bull.”

Pit bull ban: Disabled Vietnam, Gulf War vets sue Denver and Aurora for discriminating against their service dogs

By J. David McSwane, Wednesday, Mar. 31 2010 @ 3:46PM

A federal class-action suit involving disabled Coloradans — two war veterans with psychological disorders — and their service animals was filed Tuesday against Aurora, the City and County of Denver and its head of Animal Control.

The two veterans, and another disabled woman from out of state, say Denver’s controversial pit-bull ban doesn’t make exceptions for service dogs and their owners and is therefore a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.[...]

Read the lawsuit here.

Article retrieved 4/1/10 from http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2010/03/pit_bull_ban_disabled_vietnam.php

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Posted in Breed Identification, Colorado, Court Cases, Results of BSL

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