Ocala, FL Owner heads to court to fight for dog's life

[cheekymunkee]

Owner heads to court to fight for dog's life

BY CHRISTOPHER CURRY
STAR-BANNER

OCALA - Elaine Green says her dog, a boxer named Max, has never bitten a person or injured another animal.

But both the Marion County and Ocala code enforcement boards have concluded that Max is a dangerous dog based on sworn affidavits detailing aggressive, attacking behavior while loose off his owner's property.

Now Green is headed to circuit court to appeal an Ocala Code Enforcement Board decision in December to euthanize Max under the city law that - in language taken directly from Florida Statute - requires a dog previously declared dangerous to be put down if there is another attack on a domestic animal.

"The problem I've got, more than the decision, is the whole process," said James Moody, Green's attorney. "It appears to be predisposed to having a dog euthanized."

Moody also is the attorney in an ongoing appeal of a decision to euthanize a pit bull named Jake, who was involved in Ocala's first dangerous dog case.

Before a case heads to a code board, both the city and county procedures are driven primarily by sworn affidavits detailing the dog's alleged behavior.

"If two people complain .�.�. they will declare the dog dangerous because they don't want the liability," Green said.

In the spring of 2005, when Green and Max lived in Summerfield, several neighbors presented sworn affidavits that the dog came onto their property and charged them - and in one instance some piglets - in an aggressive fashion.

One neighbor said he had to fight off the dog with a sawhorse.

In the fall of 2006, Green moved with Max into an apartment along the 1700 block of Northeast 15th Street in Ocala, and the dangerous dog designation followed him.

Last November, Max got out of Green's apartment while a 15-year-old girl was watching him.

He attacked a border collie on a leash that was being walked by its owner, according to an affidavit from that dog's owner, Patricia Bergdoll.

At the code meeting, Bergdoll said her dog was not injured, but she feared a person would be hurt if Max got loose again.

"I had to report it because there's a lot of small children in this neighborhood," she said.

Ocala Public Works Director John Zobler has recommended changes be made to the city law after Max's case is resolved.

One change would require the owner of a dangerous dog to re-register the animal, and pay the $500 annual fee, when moving into the city limits. Zobler said department staff has to inspect the property, to see it is secure, photograph the dog and create a file.

A second proposed change would require a dog previously deemed dangerous be left in the care of a "competent" person at least 18 years of age.

Christopher Curry may be reached at chris.curry@... or (352) 867-4115.

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