Matt Miner and Sloane Quealy-Miner
Young Liam with best friend LucyBy
On July 30th 2007, Ian Young received the call that turned his world upside down. His dog Lucy had escaped his home and allegedly got into a fight with another dog. The other dog, being a small Chihuahua, lost the battle.
Despite a long history of aggravation and provocation from the Chihuahua – not only to Lucy but to Mr. Young, his son and Desiree Hedberg, his partner of seven years, the city of Sunnyvale and the courts of Santa Clara decided that simply ordering Lucy out of the city or declaring her a potentially dangerous dog was not enough. Lucy was ordered to be killed after three appeals. The prosecution portrayed this well socialized, friendly dog as a killer when, ironically, it was the Chihuahua who was human and dog aggressive; in fact, this Chihuahua had tried to bite the infant son of the family, but because the dog was smaller and not a targeted breed, she was exonerated of any blame.
Lucy was part of the Young family for six years, and worked closely with many dogs from foster associations around the bay area, helping shelter dogs to be socialized. She was a doting mother-dog to their 2-year old son Liam and an integral part of the family.
Under California Law, Lucy would be considered a potentially dangerous dog – she would be free to live, but with restrictions such as having to carry supplemental insurance, and muzzling in public. There are many other options for Lucy other than death. In fact, under the Sunnyvale Municipal Code, Lucy could have been ordered back home with restrictions, or ordered out of the city.
Traditionally, this has what has always been done on a “first offense,” especially given the fact that she was provoked and poses no threat to humans or other animals.
Despite this being her first offense, the city of Sunnyvale was adamant that she was so dangerous, that she must die.
Even the City’s own animal behaviorist had said in her own report, that Lucy is a very friendly, well-socialized dog. The Young’s behaviorist gave Lucy a 0 out of 10 for human aggression and even represented them for free in court; such was the strength of her convictions.
During one of the motions in Superior Court, even the Judge stated, “I would love to keep Lucy alive by ordering her out of the city.” Despite his discretion to do so, he ultimately caved to the pressure of the despicable city attorney David Kahn.
Subsequently, Lucy’s family filed a lawsuit against the City of Sunnyvale and Santa Clara County, stating that the city and county wrongfully seized and then killed their family pet, Lucy, who happened to be a “Pit Bull.” The complaint alleges that the city animal control officials lied to the family when they seized Lucy. The representatives at the pound went so far as to ban the family from being with her when she passed. A young boy spent Christmas missing one of his first and best friends. Lucy died alone, killed by strangers, in a strange place, without her family, who were barred from being with her one last time.
Lucy was killed December 20th, 2007, days before Christmas, ripping a family apart and breaking the heart of young Liam, who would never play with his best friend again. We will always remember this day and the murderous, compassionless scumbag city attorney David Kahn who ordered the death of this loving family dog based on her breed. Never forgive, never forget!
Please contact Mr. Kahn and let him know that Lucy’s memory will live on and his treacherous and heinous acts will never be forgotten.
CALL TO ACTION
David Kahn, Esq.
Sunnyvale City Attorney
Sunnyvale City Hall
PO Box 3707
Sunnyvale, CA 94088-3707
EMAIL: cityatty@ci.sunnyvale.ca.us or dkahn@ci.sunnyvale.ca.us
Fax: 1-408-730-7468
Phone: 1-408-730-7464
Click, print and Fax: 408-730-7468
Please feel free to click here for a larger version of this image, print, and politely fax it to puppy killer David Kahn at 408-730-7468.
For More information on Lucy, click HERE
Reblogged this on Voice for the Breeds and commented:
Never forget those who were taken from family, by authorities. Always remember them. granted a small dog was lost in this case. Yet another life was lost as well. Lucy. We will always remember Lucy and the small chihuahua. Prayers, go out to those who lost their precious fur children. R.I.P
This makes me sick to my stomach. If a pit killed my dog I would kil the pit and the owner. This stuff has to end. chihuahua were not bred to kill, pits were. remember kill all pits you see, hit them with your car, shoot them with a gun do what every you can to kill every pit possible.
the owner of this pit bull should rot in jail or get the death penalty for what they did to the chihuahua. This madness needs to end. BSL is god but not enough. The law doesn’t do anything until a dog or person is attacked. KILL ALL PITS NO MORE TALK KILL ALL PITS
So you’re advocating murder, animal cruelty and the killing of a family, including a 6 year old boy, because their dog got into a fight. What’s wrong with you? Are you actually this crazy?
Take your medication and go outside and get some fresh air – please try to get a grip on reality because you sound unhinged and dangerous.