The 2-year-old pit bull terrier-boxer mix, who has had three different names, has garnered the attention of thousands, including a New York City nonprofit leading a rescue effort.
The Lexus Project, which provides legal support to dogs on death row around the country, formed a trust that now owns the dog and helped generate a string of legal actions that could drag on for months, or even years.
“West Des Moines is trying very hard to kill a dog that should not be killed,” said Jaysen McCleary, a Des Moines resident and an attorney representing the trust.
McCleary said he hopes to become the new caretaker for Jimmy, a dog first known by the name Killer when cited for three biting incidents last year under the ownership of Jorge Galvan and Reyna Gonzales Tello of Valley Junction in West Des Moines. The dog was also called Palomo.
In an effort to free the dog, McCleary has filed three lawsuits and several appeals in Polk County District Court, and plans for a federal court case. And this is just the beginning, he said.
“I guarantee you, I’m just getting started,” McCleary said last week when asked about the lawsuits, court dismissals and motions to recuse multiple judges. “This could go on for years.”
A Facebook page called “Save Palomo from execution” has garnered more than 3,000 “likes” and more than $4,000 has been donated to cover court fees and costs related to the case. McCleary’s time and work is voluntary, according to officials with the Lexus Project.
The dog has racked up a bill of roughly $1,700 in the care of the West Des Moines animal control officials who seized “Killer” in late November.
The legal proceedings have also claimed countless hours from West Des Moines Assistant City Attorney Jason Wittgraf, who has worked the case daily since February.
“As long as we’re dealing with the court system, it’s going to be months,” Wittgraf said. “Until we get this ultimately resolved, it’s going to be at the top of my list whether I like it or not.”
Robert Rigg, a professor at Drake Law School, said court cases can drag on for months or years, with a string of actions and petitions following the initial petition.
But they all come to an end eventually, he said, noting that any given lawsuit or appeal must have merit for a judge to consider.
“There are limits to what lawyers can do in terms of litigation,” Rigg said. “You certainly can’t file a lawsuit just for the sake of delaying an action.”
City officials in West Des Moines seized the dog last year after they said he bit two children and a young man with special needs. A local ordinance that prohibits transferring a vicious animal to another community calls for euthanasia, they determined.
That decision was upheld by the City Council early this year after a public hearing and appeal process. Then the Galvan-Tello family took the case to district court and the Lexus Project intervened.
McCleary said the dog needs a more thorough evaluation and he believes his behavior is manageable, emphasizing that all responsibility should fall on the owner.
The previous owners and McCleary also say the dog was provoked and antagonized.
“It scratched two kids in the face who were roughhousing with it. And bit one guy who was trying to steal it,” McCleary said, questioning the accounts in police reports and testimonies from victims that cited more violent attacks.
[Oh I'm sorry. I must have missed the part where he said he now speaks dog and that's what the pit bull told him. Seeing as how he wasn't there at any of the attacks how could he possibly know whether the dog was antagonized or not? Moron.]
“I’m willing to pay for his food, his shelter and everything and confine him behind a 6-foot iron fence,” he said, questioning how long the city will fight the court proceedings. “Why do this over a dog? You have a responsible owner now who will pay his owner fees and everything.”
(DesMoinesRegister.com - May 17, 2014)
I don't speak dog but I did speak to witnesses and read the police reports.
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