Q: The city took my dogs over a false report of an attack made by an animal control officer how do I get them back?
I have 3 witnesses that say they spoke to the officer and not once did they mention an attack or even mentioned the dogs being aggressive, yet she claimed someone did and she took both of my dogs. One was taken because in her words “ was with the other when he broke out of the yard” he’s a puppy so there was no report of him doing anything but being with the older dog. I got the puppy 4 days ago and she said I also can’t get him back because he is intact and doesn’t have his shots. Is this legal? What can I do to get them back? This is not my first encounter I’ve had with this officer. She lied to me last time and took both of my dogs from my home using lies of a barking report and then by threatening to arrest me knowing I was 6 months pregnant.
A: Your dogs likely have been impounded for a 10 day rabies quarantine if an attack was alleged. If this is the case, you can get your dogs back after 10 days, but you likely will have to pay the impoundment fees. If the dogs were impounded for another reason, you can’t get them back without an order of court or full disposition of the case (I.e., plead guilty to a plea deal or go to trial and be found not guilty). I would recommend sneering with an animal attorney to go over your options and potential defenses.
A: If you are in Aurora, and a disposition hearing has been set, you will lose ownership of your dogs at that hearing unless you hire an attorney who knows what she's doing. I have handled dozens of these cases.
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