Animal advocates challenge Connecticut’s dog death penalty
HARTFORD, Conn. — A federal judge is being asked to decide whether Connecticut has violated the rights of dog owners by holding animals deemed dangerous for years on what amounts to a canine death row.
There was a hearing Monday in a lawsuit involving dogs from Waterbury, Manchester and Southington. But it seeks class-action status and an injunction that would prevent the destruction of any animal under a disposal order while the court decides if the state law is constitutional.
Kim Miller hopes it will lead to a reprieve for her dogs, Kato and Kleo, Rottweilers who have been held since being ordered destroyed in October 2012. Miller said the pair, who were 1 and 2 years old at the time, got out of her Hamden yard and bit a neighbour only after they were attacked with sticks and bats.
“My dogs were just puppies when they were taken,” she said outside the courthouse. “The kennel they are in isn’t set up for their long-term care. They are suffering.”