ELK GROVE, Calif. — In an 11th-hour effort to spare a dog who was set to be euthanized this week for biting two people in Elk Grove, a federal court filing Tuesday alleges city officials failed to follow due process and seized the animal illegally.
The one-year-old German Shepherd, named Zeus, bit a man in May. The city alleges his owner, Faryal Kabir, failed to follow guidelines afterwards, including obedience training and other measures.
Christine Kelly, Kabir's attorney, said that Kabir was in compliance, but city officials didn't give her the chance to prove it.
When animal control and Elk Grove police arrived at Kabir's home to confiscate Zeus, the dog bit an officer on the leg.
"I think that I can say Elk Grove police and Elk Grove Animal Control never should have been there to begin with," Kelly told ABC10.
In accordance with a previous court ruling, the city could put Zeus down as early as Wednesday. However, a federal judge could step in to halt the euthanization, according to ABC10 legal expert Mark Reichel.
"This is a direct first time challenge, really, to this ordinance, which they think is unconstitutional," Reichel said, adding that he believed Zeus's owner's attorney might have a case.
"There is no clarity in the code, and that I believe is a violation of due process," Kelly said.
The attorney said her client is willing to let the dog go to a sanctuary to be rehabilitated if it would spare Zeus' life, but in a court declaration, the Elk Grove Animal Services manager said she would not consider Zeus safe to place for adoption based on his biting history and behavior.
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