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roseylovestosho · 04-23-2011, 05:06 AM

Cowboy, a golden retriever, wandered away from home and died in the county shelter as his owner searched for him.
BY ELINOR J. BRECHER

EBRECHER@MIAMIHERALD.COM

The bereaved owners of Cowboy, a 10-year-old golden retriever mistakenly killed at the Miami-Dade county shelter in 2005, were awarded $860 in damages this week.

Anays Rodriguez-Porras sued Miami-Dade Animal Services for gross negligence after workers euthanized her family’s pet as she was trying to reclaim him from the county’s Medley shelter.

After a three-day trial in Circuit Judge Valerie Manno Schurr’s courtroom, a six-manjury this week found Animal Services guilty of simple negligence and awarded Rodriguez-Porras $14,000: $2,000 for the retail value of a purebred golden and $12,000 for pain and suffering.

But in Florida, pain and suffering for the loss of a pet can only be awarded with a finding of gross negligence, said Rodriguez-Porras’ lawyer, Rod McNeely, so his client can’t collect the $12,000.

The jury also found the owner had been 57 percentnegligent, based partly on Cowboy’s lack of a collar, and reduced the compensatory damages accordingly.

Rodriguez-Porras said she was shocked by the verdict, because “everyone expected something else.’’
In her lawsuit, Rodriguez-Porras, of Southwest Miami-Dade, claimed that Animal Services failed to follow its own procedures after officers picked up Cowboy up on Aug. 5, 2005 about a block from home. He’d gotten out of the house the day before, “agitated and frightened by stormy weather,’’ the lawsuit says. At first, Rodriguez-Porras was told Cowboy was not at the shelter when in fact he was.

Despite shelter policy to scan animals for identifying microchips when they first arrived, Cowboy, who wasn’t wearing a collar, wasn’t scanned for three days. When Ricardo Porras went to the shelter to pick up his wife’s dog, he was told because he wasn’t the owner of record, he needed to come back with a notarized affidavit.
He returned the next day, but staff could not find the dog. Porras searched for several hours, until the shelter closed.

The next morning — a full week after Animal Services picked up Cowboy — Rodriguez-Porras came to the shelter for the pet she’d once dressed in Halloween costumes and lavished with Christmas presents. As she searched through the kennels, a staff member told her the dog had just been euthanized. Rodriguez-Porras, the 37-year-old mother of a 6-year-old, a 1-year-old, and 3-year-old triplets, was “devastated.’’

“If the county would have followed policy, Cowboy never should been at the shelter,’’ said McNeely, of Tallahassee. “He was one scan and two phone calls away from going home.’’

At the time, Animal Services was transitioning from police department management to its own department, a step recommended in a 2004 scathing report by the Humane Society of the United States on the high-kill shelter.
Dr. Sara Pizano, a veterinarian, had been on the job as director for five weeks.

In an e-mail Friday, Pizano, who cried on the stand while testifying, said, “We are heartbroken about the loss of Cowboy, and the county has admitted negligence regarding the mistaken euthanasia from the beginning…Immediately following Cowboy’s euthanasia, Animal Services strengthened a myriad of standard operating procedures to prevent a mistake like this from happening again.’’

A similar event happened once more, in 2008. Only Florida and Hawaii allow pain-and-suffering damages for an animal, but McNeely believes that will change as the culture understands more about the human-animal bond.
“There are cases throughout American history that are ahead of their time, and this is one,’’ he said. “I hope people look back on this horrified that the jury didn’t award damages.’’ He said his client won’t appeal.

“This is evolving,’’ he said. “It’s absurd that a pet is considered the same as a couch, and everybody knows that.’’ Rodriguez-Porras said her family never got another dog, and won’t as long as they live in Miami-Dade.
“Things have not changed’’ since Cowboy’s death, she said. “Cruella De Vil is outside your door waiting to skin your dog,’’ she said, referencing the puppy-murdering villain of 101 Dalmatians, the book and movie. “That’s the way the system is made up.’

Read more: Jury awards $860 to owner of euthanized pet - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com

04-23-2011, 05:06 AM	#1
roseylovestosho Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: #4 PRIVET DRIVE Posts: 1,685	Jury awards $860 to owner of euthanized pet Cowboy, a golden retriever, wandered away from home and died in the county shelter as his owner searched for him. BY ELINOR J. BRECHER EBRECHER@MIAMIHERALD.COM The bereaved owners of Cowboy, a 10-year-old golden retriever mistakenly killed at the Miami-Dade county shelter in 2005, were awarded $860 in damages this week. Anays Rodriguez-Porras sued Miami-Dade Animal Services for gross negligence after workers euthanized her family’s pet as she was trying to reclaim him from the county’s Medley shelter. After a three-day trial in Circuit Judge Valerie Manno Schurr’s courtroom, a six-manjury this week found Animal Services guilty of simple negligence and awarded Rodriguez-Porras $14,000: $2,000 for the retail value of a purebred golden and $12,000 for pain and suffering. But in Florida, pain and suffering for the loss of a pet can only be awarded with a finding of gross negligence, said Rodriguez-Porras’ lawyer, Rod McNeely, so his client can’t collect the $12,000. The jury also found the owner had been 57 percentnegligent, based partly on Cowboy’s lack of a collar, and reduced the compensatory damages accordingly. Rodriguez-Porras said she was shocked by the verdict, because “everyone expected something else.’’ In her lawsuit, Rodriguez-Porras, of Southwest Miami-Dade, claimed that Animal Services failed to follow its own procedures after officers picked up Cowboy up on Aug. 5, 2005 about a block from home. He’d gotten out of the house the day before, “agitated and frightened by stormy weather,’’ the lawsuit says. At first, Rodriguez-Porras was told Cowboy was not at the shelter when in fact he was. Despite shelter policy to scan animals for identifying microchips when they first arrived, Cowboy, who wasn’t wearing a collar, wasn’t scanned for three days. When Ricardo Porras went to the shelter to pick up his wife’s dog, he was told because he wasn’t the owner of record, he needed to come back with a notarized affidavit. He returned the next day, but staff could not find the dog. Porras searched for several hours, until the shelter closed. The next morning — a full week after Animal Services picked up Cowboy — Rodriguez-Porras came to the shelter for the pet she’d once dressed in Halloween costumes and lavished with Christmas presents. As she searched through the kennels, a staff member told her the dog had just been euthanized. Rodriguez-Porras, the 37-year-old mother of a 6-year-old, a 1-year-old, and 3-year-old triplets, was “devastated.’’ “If the county would have followed policy, Cowboy never should been at the shelter,’’ said McNeely, of Tallahassee. “He was one scan and two phone calls away from going home.’’ At the time, Animal Services was transitioning from police department management to its own department, a step recommended in a 2004 scathing report by the Humane Society of the United States on the high-kill shelter. Dr. Sara Pizano, a veterinarian, had been on the job as director for five weeks. In an e-mail Friday, Pizano, who cried on the stand while testifying, said, “We are heartbroken about the loss of Cowboy, and the county has admitted negligence regarding the mistaken euthanasia from the beginning…Immediately following Cowboy’s euthanasia, Animal Services strengthened a myriad of standard operating procedures to prevent a mistake like this from happening again.’’ A similar event happened once more, in 2008. Only Florida and Hawaii allow pain-and-suffering damages for an animal, but McNeely believes that will change as the culture understands more about the human-animal bond. “There are cases throughout American history that are ahead of their time, and this is one,’’ he said. “I hope people look back on this horrified that the jury didn’t award damages.’’ He said his client won’t appeal. “This is evolving,’’ he said. “It’s absurd that a pet is considered the same as a couch, and everybody knows that.’’ Rodriguez-Porras said her family never got another dog, and won’t as long as they live in Miami-Dade. “Things have not changed’’ since Cowboy’s death, she said. “Cruella De Vil is outside your door waiting to skin your dog,’’ she said, referencing the puppy-murdering villain of 101 Dalmatians, the book and movie. “That’s the way the system is made up.’ Read more: Jury awards $860 to owner of euthanized pet - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com __________________ Last edited by roseylovestosho; 04-23-2011 at 05:08 AM.