Attorneys in Humane Society case expected in court Monday
Noah Chandler
The Daily Mountain Eagle
Sunday, Jul 19, 2009
Attorneys for the Walker County Humane Society and Jasper resident Marcus Campbell are expected to be in court Monday morning to find out whether or not more information regarding their pending lawsuit can be released to the public or media.
In May, a male boxer named Boost was brought in to the Walker County Humane Society by an elderly couple and euthanized within an hour of arriving.
In the original story, printed on May 23, Walker County Humane Society Executive Director Lane Reno stated they (Humane Society employees) had to use a catch pole to remove Boost from the pet taxi once an elderly couple dropped the dog off.
“They (the elderly couple) had to bring him here in a pet taxi that they had to borrow from us,” Reno said in the article. “The dog would not come out of the carrier so we had to use a capture pole. That is when he became aggressive.”
Following the release of the original story, the elderly couple in question came forward to give their side of the story, which contradicts Reno’s. Peggy Dunn and James Martin were the last known people to have contact with Boost before he was turned over to the Humane Society.
Dunn and Martin are neighbors of Campbell, the owner of Boost. They both said they spotted the dog roaming around their residence after returning home. Dunn said the dog first made contact with her.
“When I opened the door it jumped up on me,” Dunn said. “It was playful and it let you pet it.”
Both said they did have to go retrieve a pet taxi from the Humane Society, but only after they were instructed to do so by the Jasper Police Department.
Martin said he watched every move the dog made once unloaded at the Humane Society. From his account there was no sign of aggression or timid behavior coming from Boost.
“When they took it (pet taxi) off the truck they took a little old leash and put it on him,” Martin said in an earlier article. “He got out of the box and they went inside, walked down the hallway around in the back and that was the last I saw of him.”
Boost was euthanized approximately one hour after being brought to the shelter. Reno said in the original story she could not tell if the dog was a pet or a stray, therefore the boxer was put down.
“They (Dunn and Martin) brought the dog in about 3:30 and we closed at 4:30 p.m.,” Reno said in May. “It’s not unusual to euthanize an animal once it comes through our doors. I mean we get so many dogs in and there isn’t much room. And Tuesday we didn’t have any space.”
On Wednesday, the attorney for the WCHS filed for an emergency motion for protective order and order to enjoin the plaintiff from disseminating information exchanged in discovery. The Humane Society’s attorney’s office was contacted by the Daily Mountain Eagle, but they did not return phone calls.
Campbell’s attorney, Brett Wadsworth, said this motion should have been filed before the discovery process.
“What that means is they want to keep us from sharing the video tapes and paper evidence that corroborates my client’s story and the story of the witnesses,” Wadsworth said. “But we are filing a counter motion to try to prevent their motion.”
Wadsworth filed a response to the motion for a protective order on Thursday, July 15. In the motion Wadsworth cites various reasons why the defense’s motion should be denied, one of which is the time frame in which the defense’s motion was filed.
“A protective order is before discovery,” Wadsworth said. “They should have asked for the protective order on discovery before they sent me the information. They should have asked for a gag order, but those are generally only done in criminal trials.”
Wadsworth said when the lawsuit was originally filed he asked for the video surveillance from the WCHS during the time Boost was allegedly dropped off.
“When we filed the lawsuit we asked for any video surveillance from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m., but we only got 10 minutes of video,” Wadsworth said. “But the video is actually right in line with what the elderly couple said. The elderly couple were telling the truth, and we never doubted that.”
The Eagle was provided a copy of the video surveillance. The video shows the couple arriving at the Humane Society with a pet taxi in the back of a small pickup truck. The couple gets out of the truck and walks inside the building, returning a few moments later with what appears to be two WCHS employees.
One possible employee, a male, is seen opening the pet taxi and is seen slipping what appeared to be a small leash around a dogs neck. The dog walks out of the pet taxi, hesitates momentarily before jumping off the tailgate and walking into the building.
“The purpose of the video, what we find interesting in the video is that it proves Reno wasn’t truthful with the Daily Mountain Eagle in her May 23 interview,” Wadsworth said. “Once she gave that interview with the Daily Mountain Eagle, she opened her self up for rebuttal. Marcus Campbell has the right to say his dog wasn’t aggressive and here is the proof.”
The hearing is set for Monday and is a part of a motion docket that will begin at 9 a.m. in Judge Doug Farris’ courtroom at the Walker County Courthouse Annex.
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