Lucy's family says it will sue city

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I cannot BELIEVE the hypocrisy of the shelter's statement!!!!! Friday Dec 21 Family of dog that killed neighbor's pet says it will sue city By Melanie Carroll / Daily News Staff Writer A Sunnyvale family's beloved pit bull was euthanized Thursday afternoon, nearly five months after she attacked and killed a neighbor's Chihuahua and was subsequently deemed a viscious animal. Despite a campaign to save Lucy the pit bull that included more than 12,000 online signatures, the 8-year-old dog died at the Humane Society Silicon Valley just before 3 p.m. in accordance with a judge's order. "This is very difficult for everyone," said Lauda Fulda, a spokeswoman for the animal shelter. "It's very very sad. I can't say this is an easy thing ... She's been here since July." Fulda also said that given Lucy's history, she could have posed a threat to the public if released. If she were to attack a dog being walked by a child, for example, both could potentially be injured. "You can't have a dog (like that) go back to the community," Fulda said. "We have to look at the safety of the community." Accounts vary as to exactly what happened July 30 after Lucy slipped through the fence of her owner's Bryan Avenue backyard. She killed one of the two leashed dogs being walked by a neighbor, whose name was not released. "As a result of the attack, Bobbie, a Chihuahua, was killed and Dude, a small mixed-breed, was injured before escaping the scene," according to a fact sheet posted on Sunnyvale's Web site.

A hearing by the city's Department of Public Safety later found Lucy to be viscious and ordered that she be euthanized. Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Brian Walsh agreed. Lucy's owners described her as a sweet and gentle animal who was provoked by Bobbie for months prior to that fateful day in July. "The smaller dog provoked Lucy. According to the Sunnyvale municipal code, this is an exception to the dog being labeled viscious," said Shannon Keith, an attorney representing Ian Young and his partner Desiree Hedberg, the couple who owned Lucy. Through tears Thursday afternoon not long after his dog's death, Young said he intends to sue the city for defamation and to file a complaint against City Attorney David Kahn with the State Bar of California. Keith said the emotionally charged issue is one that people need to know about. "There is a lot of breed discrimination," Keith said. Fulda said she hopes the Lucy

case doesn't reinforce negative stereotypes about pit bulls. "I wish they (the public) would look at animals as individuals," Fulda said. Leave comments: http://www.paloaltodailynews.com/article/2007-12-21-sv-lucy-folo http://www.crueltyfree.com/ForTheAnimals