Duncan is currently being held by the Seattle Animal Shelter awaiting an appeal in Seattle Municipal Court. We are not allowed to visit

 In September of 2012 Duncan was at home with his mom and dad; dad had just come home from the hospital after suffering a stroke in August.  It was dinner time and someone came to the door, mom went to the door with her plate of food and had Duncan sit.

He is always excited by visitors loves to greet them with barking and kissing them on the chin.  When the door opened he ran into the yard to greet our new visitor, since we had taken the screen door off for easier access for Dad. The person at the door was a neighbor from across the street that is very afraid of large dogs; she saw Duncan and started screaming and jumping up and down waving her arms.

Duncan thinking she was playing with him went running around the yard, then our Dogwood tree in the front yard, he then ran past her and jumped up to greet her and caught one of his claws on her arm.  He’s done this with us many times and leaves scratches, which is why we usually have him sit inside before greeting guests.  But since the screed door was off he went out to greet her.

She told our mother that she had been bitten, which was clearly not the case.  She did have a nasty gash from his claw, but it wasn’t bleeding. She was taken into our home and taken into the bathroom for a cold cloth to place on the wound.  Duncan was then brought in and put to bed in his room.  Our mother walked her across the street, to her home.  A gentleman working on a car in there yard, commented that Duncan had been playing.

The Seattle Animal Shelter was contacted by our neighbor and then they came to our door, and he said our neighbor asked him not to, that he had to come and talk to us.  We had to place in quarantine in our home for 10 days.  After the 10 days, a woman Animal Shelter Officer came to our door and told our mother we had a week to decide whether to keep Duncan or re-home him, which was very confusing. When she returned a week later she spoke to my sister and she told her we would be keeping him.  We thought that since he had passed quarantine and could show that he greeted and played with friends and family (toddlers and baby’s) as he has for years that the issue was resolved.

My mother received a letter in January 2013 telling her that she was to be prosecuted.  We have had an animal behaviorist come to our home and study Duncan trying to get him to respond negatively to her.  He was found to be not vicious.  We also have had a cousin that has never met Duncan come into our home with other strangers and Duncan greeted them with barking and then with kisses. Duncan is not a vicious dog he was just running and jumping in his front yard.  He did not viciously attack our neighbor and does not deserve to be euthanized.

We have now been told that if we had rehomed him no charge would even been filed??  We were never told this by the Animal Shelter officers.  He is a very much loved pet and as our vet says a very spoiled family dog.  

The person who now claims she was bitten never came to court but moved across the country, instead the judge allowed her mother to testify for her…she wasn’t there?  (Isn’t that called hearsay??)  Her witness, of which there was only the gentleman in their yard…never came to court.

The first Animal Shelter officer changed his story and said he didn’t write his report until two weeks later, and fabricated a story for his report.  He was very chummy with the neighbors’ mother in the court room halls.  The female officer stated she had met and spoken to our mother twice, also a fabrication.  We later found out the female officer was good friends with the Judge’s wife.

The behaviorist testimony was not allowed; our witness’s testimony and letters were not allowed.  We were never informed that if we didn’t re-home him that it meant prosecution.  Our side was never heard, Duncan was not given a fair or impartial trial.

Seattle law claims that’ if someone is injured by someone’s dog, doesn’t matter if it’s a bite or a scratch that, that makes them a vicious dog.  This is a bad law and needs to be changed.

PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION AND HELP US SAVE A BELOVED, PLAYFUL, LOVABLE FAMILY DOG!  AND GAIN HIS APPEAL.