Tag Archives: court

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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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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Lakewood, OH: Lawsuit filed against city due to “pit bull” ban

Posted on March 30, 2010 by | 1 Comment

Read a copy of the suit filed in Cuyahoga County, Ohio Common Pleas Court: http://www.lovelakewood.com/pdf/dog/100319_pitbull_court.pdf

An excerpt of the case (visit the link for the full post):

http://www.lovelakewood.com/blog/2010/03/30/citys-enforcement-of-pit-bull-ban-draws-lawsuit/

Former Lakewood resident Leonard Shelton alleges that he suffered “economic damages, psychological damages, and other compensatory damages” when the city harassed him about Rosco, his Boston Terrier mix, and forced them both to move out of the city. Shelton is seeking a minimum of $475,000 in damages.

According to Shelton’s complaint, Stewart and Lakewood police officer Kenneth Kulczycki stopped him on the street in April, 2009, and told him his pet was a pit bull and needed to be removed from the city, or else he would face criminal charges.

[...] Shelton’s complaint against the city says its inability to correctly identify the breed of his dog, the harassment, and refusal to accept DNA proof was motivated by “among other things, malice, ill will, discrimination, and bad faith and constitutes violations of [his] constitutional rights.”

Additional posts and info about Leonard Shelton:

http://btoellner.typepad.com/kcdogblog/2009/05/bsl-again-affecting-good-owners.html

http://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/leonard-shelton-fought-in-the-marines-for-20-years-now-he-fights-for-sleep/Content?oid=1505838

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

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Salina, KS: Dog owner back in court as Salina disputes DNA test

Posted on February 19, 2010 by | 1 Comment

Summary: Lucey, the Cartwrights’ dog, “looks like” a “pit bull.”  Salina, KS has had a ban on “pit bulls” since 2005.  Lucey was seized, but the Cartwrights fought back, and had the Mars Wisdom Panel genetic test performed.  The test results were that Lucey was not a Pit Bull, and had only about 1/8 Staffordshire Bull Terrier in her ancestry.  So, a judge said she was not banned under Salina’s law, and refunded the money the Cartwrights had spent defending her.  But then, veterinarian David Atherton (a consultant to the Salina Animal Shelter, and the one who initially deemed Lucey to be a “pit bull”) decided that the genetic test results were incorrect. (Because the test uses autosomal chromosomes rather than sex chromosomes; and because “pit bulls aren’t pure-bred”.  Besides, he ran the test on his own dog, and got back results that seemed highly questionable; and anyhow, the Mars company itself says the test is not authorized for use in breed ban cases.)  So, the Cartwrights are going back to court in March 2010; and the judge will require any scientific evidence to be backed up by expert testimony. Meanwhile, the Cartwrights may be moving away, for employment reasons.  It’s not clear from the article exactly where Lucey is being kept while waiting for the new trial — hopefully with her family, and not impounded at the shelter.

Previous alert for Salina: http://stopbsl.com/2009/09/02/salina-ks-dogs-dna-saves-its-life/

Salina disputes DNA test

2/19/2010
By DAVID CLOUSTON
Salina Journal

Five months ago, Cartwright thought a DNA test had saved Lucey, who looks like a pit bull, after she ran afoul of the city’s breed ban….

Cartwright won her case, based on the results of the genetic test….

Then in November she got a notice … [Salina] was refiling the charge against her of owning a prohibited pit bull… [because] the city prosecutor [thinks] the DNA test is unreliable….

Cartwright has hired an attorney…. Her trial is scheduled to begin in March.

Reporter David Clouston can be reached at 822-1403 or by e-mail at dclouston@salina.com.

Full article retrieved Feb. 19, 2010 from http://www.salina.com/news/story/Dog-DNA-2-18-10

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Posted in Breed Identification, Court Cases, Kansas

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Toledo, OH: Citizens panel to study Toledo’s dog ordinance

Posted on February 19, 2010 by | Comments Off

Past news for Toledo: http://stopbsl.com/?s=toledo

Citizens panel to study Toledo’s dog ordinance

Committee to seek options if appeal of ‘pit bull’ law is lost

By JC REINDL
BLADE STAFF WRITER
Article published February 18, 2010

The city of Toledo’s contested vicious-dogs law will be getting a review by a citizen-led committee.

Members of the Lucas County Dog Warden Advisory Committee voted unanimously yesterday to accept a request by Mayor Mike Bell that they examine and suggest changes to the controversial law, which puts additional restrictions on “pit bulls” and “pit-bull”- mixed dogs in the city.[...]

Full article retrieved 2/19/10 from http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100218/NEWS16/100219603/0/news04

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Posted in Court Cases, Ohio

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