On December 29, 2022, a tragic incident occurred involving my beloved dog Luciano. Amidst a chaotic situation where he was injured and bleeding profusely, the Imperial County Sheriff's Department (ICSD) responded with excessive force, fracturing his skull with a less lethal round to the head at close range and emptied 3 cans of pepper spray on him. He needed emergency surgery. He was put on a potentially dangerous dog list. County animal control and only County animal control

 

 

 was to be called in the event of him biting someone again. On August 3 ,2023 he bit again but the sheriffs picked him up and placed in city animal control.In the aftermath of this traumatic event,on August 7,2023 Holtville Animal Control declared that Luciano had died from heat stroke after trying to get him in the truck for 45 mins in 110 degree weather. He was an inside dog didnt handle heat very well. City hall and city animal Control refused to provide any further information or documentation. 

 

 

Despite being under quarantine due to an earlier incident, Luciano was deemed city property based on a paper I signed under duress. However, this document is void as it was signed while my dog was still under quarantine. The city hall’s financial supervisor denied me access to my pet's body or even an incident report. To add injury on top of insult they lied me about how they handled the dogs after they were put down. Went as far as to tell me they would call me to meet them at the vets office so i could be present when my dog got euthanized and even said they would give me his body back so i could have him cremated.

 

 

This case raises serious concerns about the practices of Holtville Animal Control and their lack of transparency. It also brings into question their ability to handle situations involving animals in distress appropriately given they are not adequately trained for such scenarios.

We demand justice for Luciano and call upon local authorities to conduct an independent investigation into his death. We also urge them to review and reform current animal control practices in Holtville so that no other pet owner has to endure such heartbreak

 

Please sign this petition if you believe in justice for all creatures big and small; let us ensure that what happened to Luciano leads to positive change in our community's animal control policies.