Luna will live to fight another day
Rensselaer County Court judge orders Luna to stay at the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society until further notice
TROY, N.Y. >> They say all good dogs go to heaven, but thanks to a decision by the Rensselaer County Court, Luna will live to fight another day.
An initial ruling by the Troy City Court ordered that Luna be put down.
The latest ruling from Rensselaer County Court states for Luna to remain in custody of the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society until a further order is issued by the Court.
“We’re not out of the woods yet, but it’s a good next step,” Todd Cramer, President and CEO Mohawk Hudson Humane Society said of the stay order granted.
“The order says she has to stay in our care and the process continues and we’re happy to do that for her. We’ll continue to make sure she’s got everything she needs, including lots of love and we’ll make sure she’ll get a big boost up of her enrichment, when a dog has a length of stay at a shelter you need to do things to keep them emotionally well and relaxed so she’ll have a different variety of toys and activities to keep her mind busy and to keep her happy,” Cramer added of how the shelter plans to care for Luna in the interim.
“We’re obviously pleased that the stay was granted. Luna’s going to be staying with Mohawk Hudson pending the appeal,” Humane Society attorney Jonathan Schopf said of the court order. “We’re looking forward to working with the dog owner’s attorney Margaret Donnelly to assist in that any way we can and ultimately intervene in the appeals of the interested party.”
It was a decision which left Luna’s owners and many following the case waiting with bated breath as Luna a pit bull mix, is mired in legal limbo.
“On November 1, 2018, in Troy City Court, a “dangerous dog” proceeding was held involving “Luna”, a dog residing in the City of Troy. The proceeding was based upon a complaint made to the City of Troy regarding an
incident that occurred on October 25, 2018, in Troy, New York wherein Luna charged up two (2) flights of stairs, broke through a safety gate, and attacked a neighbors’ dog. The owner of the victim dog was also bit by Luna during the attack,” a statement from the Troy Mayor’s office read of the incident in question.
“After having been carefully advised of her various rights in open Court, Luna’s owner made an agreement wherein her dog would be euthanized. The dog’s owner voluntarily and freely made that agreement on the record, and The Court made an Order based upon her agreement,” the statement read further. “Last Friday, November 9, 2018, Luna’s owner made an application to the Troy City Court for an Order vacating the Court’s previous Order and
reopening the entire matter for a full Hearing. The City made a good faith attempt to settle the matter in a reasonable and rational manner that included the sparing of Luna’s life and the return of that dog to her owner.”
“The settlement reduced the fine, required the owner to muzzle and restrain the dog when it is outside, agree to reimburse veterinary bills to the family of the dog that was attacked, and require Luna’s owner to purchase insurance to guard against losses in [a] future event. These requirements are set forth in the City Code. Tragically, Luna’s owner refused the terms of the agreement that would have spared the dog’s life,” the statement added.
For its part the city appears to have been balancing sparing the life of the dog and not wanting to set precedent, stating, “It is not the City’s wish to see any dog euthanized, but we take seriously the responsi- bility of preventing similar situations from occurring again in our community.”
Cynthia LaFave, Board Chair of the Humane Society also countered against the initial Troy city ordinance ruling. “We do think that there are problems with that statute and we think it’s preempted by state law,” LaFave said.