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===Settlement Fails===
===Settlement Fails===


On June 13, 2012, a settlement judge was assigned to work out a compromise between all parties involved, but the City of Henderson refused to enter into a settlement and the case returned to the Nevada Supreme Court.<SUP class=reference id=cite_ref-6>[7]
On June 13, 2012, a settlement judge was assigned to work out a compromise between all parties involved, but the City of Henderson refused to enter into a settlement and the case returned to the Nevada Supreme Court.


===Back to Supreme Court===
===Back to Supreme Court===
On August 26, 2012, the high court ordered the dog to be kept alive until it could reach a final decision on its disposition. The court ordered all sides in the case to make their arguments before them on September 24, 2012.<SUP class=reference id=cite_ref-7>[8]
On August 26, 2012, the high court ordered the dog to be kept alive until it could reach a final decision on its disposition. The court ordered all sides in the case to make their arguments before them on September 24, 2012.


Because of the high profile of the case and its potential legal precedent, the Court ordered oral arguments.  On July 3, 2013, oral argument before the full Court was held.  During that hearing, the City admitted that the dog has not been exercised even once during his now 14 months incarceration.  He is held in a double cage, secluded from human contact except for the shelter veterinarian.
Because of the high profile of the case and its potential legal precedent, the Court ordered oral arguments.  On July 3, 2013, oral argument before the full Court was held.  During that hearing, the City admitted that the dog has not been exercised even once during his now 14 months incarceration.  He is held in a double cage, secluded from human contact except for the shelter veterinarian.

Revision as of 02:32, 8 December 2013

Onion the Dog of Henderson, Nevada, became an international focal point for animal welfare advocates in their struggle against municipalities and their animal control departments after the death of the family child who was injured by the dog. The incident and tragedy initiated a continuing legal battle that was heard by the Nevada Supreme Court on July 3, 2013, as to whether the dog should be killed, with the key issue being who actually owns the dog. Animal welfare advocates spearheaded by the Lexus Project are trying to keep the dog from being killed and are raising donations for their cause. The Onion case, they say, exemplifies overreaching law enforcement throughout the United States against dogs arbitrarily declared dangerous.

Fatal incident of April 27, 2012

Elizabeth Keller and her son had gathered at her home in Henderson, Nevada, to celebrate the first birthday of her grandson, Jeremiah Eskew-Shahan. The six-year old 120-lb mastiff/Rhodesian ridgeback mix family dog was in attendance at Jeremiah’s birthday party on April 27, 2012, when at 10:00 p.m. the dog, who was lying on the floor next to the baby after a day-long celebration, grabbed and began shaking the baby’s head. After the party, Jeremiah crawled over to Onion and tried to grab hold of the dog in order to stand up. As Keller leaned over to pick up Jeremiah, the dog grabbed the boy's head and began to shake the child. The boy's father heard the commotion, ran down the stairs, and yelled “stop,” at which point the dog released the child.

The family called paramedics and as Keller held the baby, an animal control officer of Henderson came and demanded that the dog be given to him, without reading any documents to Keller and without notifying her of the consequences of her action. Jeremiah was taken to a nearby hospital and was later transferred to the University Medical Center, where he died the next day, April 28, from the trauma. [1][2][3] Local authorities declared the event to be an “accident.”

Animal Control Impoundment

After the attack, Henderson animal control officials declared Onion a vicious dog and impounded him with the plan to kill him after a 10-day mandated quarantine. "The dog attacked and killed a child," animal control spokesman Keith Paul said. "It would be irresponsible of us to allow this dog to be adopted out." Later, Keller said in a sworn statement that she had turned over Onion's to Henderson while under duress, and that she now wanted the Lexus Project to have ownership of the dog.

Animal Rescue Groups Intervene

Chicago dog rescuer Les Golden spearheaded the initial campaign to save Onion. "The dog deserves to be saved," he said, and started a nationwide campaign to save Onion. After an article in the Las Vegas Review Courier led to the story going international, a dog lover contacted Golden and informed him of the New York-based Lexus Project, which was originally formed to defend a so-called "vicious" greyhound named Lexus that was impounded after killing a Pomeranian dog, but it now helps defends all breeds of dogs. Golden contacted the Anne Healy of the national mastiff rescue who put him in contact with the Blue Lion Rescue Animal Sanctuary near Denver. [4] [5] They agreed to take Onion if custody was achieved. The licensed, non-profit 35-acre sanctuary is nationally-known for dealing specifically with large breed dogs considered to be aggressive under municipal codes.

The Lexus Project lead attorney, Richard Rosenthal, agreed to help, and directed Golden to located Nevada counsel to file a temporary restraining order. Golden located Kathy McCarthy in Las Vegas through various channels and she, working with Rosenthal, successfully filed the TRO the following Monday, April 20. Soon thereafter, Keller voluntarily signed over dog ownership to the Lexus Project.

Henderson Mayor Andy Hafen refused to relinquish the dog to the sanctuary despite hundreds of postings to Las Vegas television and newspaper websites supporting compassion and clemency and the raising of sufficient money to pay for his transport from Henderson to Colorado by Blue Lion Rescue trained staff. A reporter for one of the local television stations in Las Vegas offered to adopt the dog, but Hafen spurned the request.

Legal Rulings

Temporary Restraining Order

On May 7, the Clark County court granted a temporary restraining order filed on behalf of the dog by a New York animal welfare group, The Lexus Project. A “Save-Onion” trust was established to provide for the care of the dog and a Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Save-Onion/373825145997519, was established to receive donations.[6][7] The events reached international scope after issuance of the TRO.[8]

District Court Rulings

Since his incarceration, Onion has been held at the Henderson Animal Shelter while the question of killing him is litigated in various Nevada courts. At the heart of the legal issue is whether Onion's ownership was relinquished to the city of Henderson after the attack on the child. Clark County Nevada District Judge Joanna Kishner has issued repeated legal orders allowing the euthanasia of Onion. "Lexus does not have any property rights to the dog, so it had no legal right to seek the temporary restraining order," Kishner said in one ruling.

Appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court

Because Nevada lacks an appellate court system, the Lexus Project appealed the case to the Nevada Supreme Court. Las Vegas attorney Dominique Geller working with the Lexus Project wrote the brief which led the Court to grant an indefinite stay on the dog’s killing and agreed to adjudicate the case.

Settlement Fails

On June 13, 2012, a settlement judge was assigned to work out a compromise between all parties involved, but the City of Henderson refused to enter into a settlement and the case returned to the Nevada Supreme Court.

Back to Supreme Court

On August 26, 2012, the high court ordered the dog to be kept alive until it could reach a final decision on its disposition. The court ordered all sides in the case to make their arguments before them on September 24, 2012.

Because of the high profile of the case and its potential legal precedent, the Court ordered oral arguments. On July 3, 2013, oral argument before the full Court was held. During that hearing, the City admitted that the dog has not been exercised even once during his now 14 months incarceration. He is held in a double cage, secluded from human contact except for the shelter veterinarian.

During questioning by the Court, the City of Henderson admitted that the dog has not been exercised nor taken outside of his cage during his now 14 months of incarceration. The proceedings are available at the Supreme Court website, and were placed on You Tube by KTNV Nevada.

As of December, 2013, no decision has been forthcoming and the dog remains in jail, now 20 months. He is now more than 8 years old, within the interval of life expectancy for his breed.

Focus for Animal Welfare Groups

For decades, national and local animal welfare groups have argued that municipal codes have been prejudicial against dog that are ruled aggressive against humans and that the fault lays largely with neglect and poor training on the part of dog owners. The case of Onion became a focal point for efforts of such groups.

References

External links

  • [1] Blue_Lion_Rescue_Animal_Sanctuary

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