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City can't euthanize pit bull, or any dog that looks like it, judge orders
Nov. 10, 2011
"A Wayne County judge demanded Wednesday that the City of Detroit not euthanize a brown pit bull named Ace that is at the center of a dispute over animal control policy.
Ace, found Friday at an Ace hardware store at McNichols near I-75, was scheduled to die today after a state-mandated four-day waiting period.
But questions as to who owns him and whether he is still alive prompted Judge Gershwin Drain to halt euthanasia of any dog by Detroit Animal Control that remotely looks like him until a Wednesday hearing on where Ace is and who owns him, said Detroit Dog Rescue founder Daniel (Hush) Carlisle.
"At least we got a stay," said Carlisle, whose group led a Facebook, petition, phone and e-mail campaign to have the dog released to it for rehabilitation and possible adoption.
City officials said pit bulls aren't released to rescue groups because of liability concerns should the animal bite.
Bruce King of the city health department, which oversees animal control, said it has received reports of about 1,000 dog bites this year, most of which were from pit bulls.
While the group tried to get the dog released to it, Carlisle said that on Tuesday night, he encountered Nitta Moses, a Detroit woman who said the dog was hers and that his name was Doodoo.
On Wednesday, Carlisle, Moses and his associate went to the animal control facility.
The animal they were shown wasn't a match, leaving Carlisle in fear the dog was euthanized before the four-day hold was up. But King said the dog is alive and that the department believes Moses isn't the owner.
Moses, a nursing student, said Doodoo has never been aggressive or bitten anyone. She said he was stolen from her yard and she called animal control when she saw his photo on TV. She was told to bring paperwork and a rabies certificate, all of which she provided.
"I brought more than they asked for, and they brought me a totally different dog," said Moses, who believes her dog has been killed. She has hired an attorney.
Ace's plight caused City Council President Charles Pugh to try to intervene Wednesday. He asked that the dog's life be spared and that he be released to a rescue group.
Pugh has called for a moratorium on the ordinance or at least a waiver absolving the city of responsibility if the dog is later involved in an attack.
"It would be devastating to the goodwill of this city for the mayor's office to allow Ace to die when a reputable, state-approved rescue agency has told us that they will rehabilitate the dog and determine if it's adoptable," Pugh said.
Currently, King said, Detroit Animal Control works with the Michigan Humane Society to occasionally place dogs that are not pit bulls, because the city has no adoption facilities. The blanket ruling on pit bulls, he said, is a reflection on their propensity to attack.
"It's not the dog's fault," he said. "It's the owner's fault."
Carlisle said his group has housed several pit bulls in the few months he has been operating as a rescue. He called the city's policy shortsighted.
King said the city cannot bear the responsibility of an attack, should Ace be rehabilitated. Several years ago, he said, postal officials refused to deliver mail to ZIP codes in Detroit where pit bulls roamed."
http://www.freep.com/article/20111110/NEWS01/111100453/City-can-t-euthanize-pit-bull-any-dog-looks-like-judge-orders
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