John H. Todd, 63, of Chiloquin, filed suit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Medford stating agents of Klamath County Animal Control (KCAC) acted outside their legal authority when he was served a search warrant June 15 at his residence on the 1200 block of Chocktoot St.
According to Todd, the warrant authorized the collecting of veterinary records rather than the pets themselves, though animal control officials have said they are unable to confirm the warrant’s content at this time, with Todd claiming the search was a pretext to invade his privacy.
“(Officers) had not seen the animals, but the attitude and wording of search warrant indicated (the pets) were going to be seized anyway,” Todd stated in his complaint. The lawsuit lists the county, as well as KCAC and Assistant Animal Control Officer Gale McMahon as defendants.
When interviewed Monday, McMahon confirmed he and his office were served that day with the lawsuit, but referred any further statements regarding the incident to the Klamath County District Attorney’s Office.
District Attorney Rob Patridge later confirmed his office had only just received reports from KCAC Monday morning and he could not comment on specifics, adding the issue of the lawsuit was being handled by County Counsel Dave Groff.
The seizure at Todd’s home on June 15 was one of two incidents described in a news release published Thursday by KCAC; the other being the confiscation of 25 animals from the Bonanza area June 4. In the release, McMahon said his office was seeking felony charges against the alleged offenders, Todd and two yet-unnamed individuals from Bonanza.
Patridge said Monday he could not yet determine when potential charges may be filed, as he expects it will take some time to review the reports from KCAC.
When speaking with Herald & News Monday, Todd said he was aware of the potential for charges against him, and said he is prepared to defend his actions in court as he feels his pets were in no danger when they were confiscated.
“I did the best I could, and I loved them,” he said, describing his animals as members of his family. “I didn’t mistreat them. They had food, they had water, they had medical care.”
Todd explained it was not his intention to amass 98 cats at his property, but said he had been unable to learn of local no-kill shelters able to help relocate the cats as they grew in number.
He said his willingness to see the pets re-housed is part of his frustration with authorities, whom he said should have made a greater effort to work with him rather than compel him to surrender the animals.
“I really think that there could have been a better solution,” he said. He said he chose to give up his pets as he could not care for other animals at his property — namely dogs — from jail, claiming he had been threatened with arrest by McMahon if he resisted the seizure. McMahon said he was not in a position to respond to the allegation.
After being seized from Todd’s property, all 98 cats were shipped to the Oregon Human Society (OHS), in Portland, which confirmed the receipt of the animals in a news release published on its website Monday.
The release said OHS was seeking potential new owners for the animals “as soon as possible,” describing how their facilities are currently at capacity, and describing the relocation of the cats as “one of the largest pet rescues in Oregon history.”
“Fighting animal cruelty in Oregon is a top priority of OHS,” stated Executive Director Sharon Harmon in the release, which went on to say OHS will be offering a special cat adoption fee of 95 cents between June 25 and 28 to help relocate the animals.
Todd said he is not so uncomfortable to hear the animals are being sent to live elsewhere, as he is primarily concerned with their well-being. He said he would still like to see a few of them returned, as some cats had been with him for more than a decade and were particularly meaningful.
“It broke my heart,” he said of having to see them taken away. “Those animals were my life. They made me complete.”
A response to Todd’s complaint is expected to be filed by the county in the coming days, after which time a judge may schedule subsequent hearings and a potential trial. Todd has requested a jury trial.
(Herald and News - June 23, 2015)
Related:
No comments:
Post a Comment