BATON ROUGE – Two Baton Rouge pet owners have filed a suit against the city and parish over the treatment of their dog after an alleged bite incident.
Gina Dipietro and Bonnie Blalock filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana against Hilton Cole, the city of Baton Rouge and the Parish of East Baton Rouge, on behalf of the East Baton Rouge Parish Animal Control and Rescue Center and the Animal Classifications and Appeal Committee alleging that they violated the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
According to the complaint, the plaintiffs allege that on July 22, 2015, a canine owned by plaintiffs left his enclosure and allegedly bit two East Baton Rouge Parish residents. The East Baton Rouge Parish Animal Control and Rescue Center declared the plaintiff's dog a "dangerous" dog, the suit states, and removed the dog from their possession for a time.
The plaintiffs allege they suffered loss of possession, use and enjoyment of the dog, feared of permanently losing him and incurred financial obligations.
The plaintiffs holds Hilton Cole, the city of Baton Rouge and the Parish of East Baton Rouge responsible because the defendants allegedly attempted to deprive them of their property, conspired with residents of the Quail Meadow subdivision to illegally seized the dog and threatened them with the euthanization of the dog.
The plaintiffs request a trial by jury and seek award for compensatory and punitive damages, permanent injunction requiring defendants to promulgate appropriate rules to be employed during administrative hearings and such other relief as may be just. They are represented by Michael L. Tyler of The Tyler Law Firm LLC in Baton Rouge.
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana Case number 3:16-cv-00566