California woman pleads for help from city officials to stop her dog from getting euthanized
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A California woman was put on suicide watch after threatening to kill herself when her German Shepherd puppy was sentenced to death for biting a stranger β and the cop who came to grab him.
Faryal Kabir said she wanted to end her life after the 16-month-old dog named Zeus was seized by Elk Grove Animal Control on July 15.
He bit an unidentified man in May, leaving the victim with several serious scratches on his legs. Zeus then struck again in July, biting an Elk Grove animal control officer who showed up to grab him.
That bite broke the skin of the unknown man.
The doomed dog was due to be euthanized Friday at the Elk Grove Animal Shelter, but a lawsuit filed Wednesday by Kabir, 46, has delayed the execution.
She filed it after being slapped with a court order requiring her to spend five days in the Sacramento Behavioral Hospital beginning Oct. 6 for fear she would harm herself.
Speaking to DailyMail.com, Kabir revealed that she is now suing the city after an ordeal she says has given her nightmares. Her lawyer is also demanding $500,000 for injuries and losses suffered by Kabir and $5 million “in the event her dog is executed.”
She said, ‘I can’t live without him. He is my baby. My son. My best friend,’ she said.
Faryal Kabir, 46, says she will kill herself if her German Shepherd puppy Zeus, pictured above with his owner, is euthanized for biting a stranger – and a cop who came to grab him after
Bodycam video shows Kabir trying to restrain Zeus as he lunges at animal controllers trying to grab him. Zeus is now doomed to die by lethal injection for his violent behavior
A photo of one of the animal protection officers outside Kabir’s house, looking at these pants where Zeus grabbed them. Officials had arrived five days early to confiscate the dog. Zeus was supposed to be put to sleep on October 14, but his execution has been postponed after Kabir filed a complaint
Kabir is seen holding Zeus on a leash before being loaded into the back of the animal control car and taken away
Kabir told DailyMail.com that the ordeal began on May 16 after she and Zeus returned from a dog park.
While parking her car, Zeus was startled to see a man nearby and jumped out of the car. The victim, who has not been identified, said Zeus chased and bit him, according to a report to authorities.
The victim was treated in the emergency room for his injuries and reported pain in his legs, difficulty sitting, working, sleeping and other normal activities that continued for days after the attack.
About a week later, city officials sent Kabir a letter classifying her dog as a “dangerous animal.”
Kabir was then given a list of requirements, including that the animal must be kept in a substantial enclosure, securely leashed, or otherwise supervised. She was given 35 days to comply.
She also had to put up a fence in her yard and put up a sign saying she had a dangerous dog, as well as install new locks on her gate and get $100,000 in liability insurance for Zeus.
However, Kabir says animal inspectors from the Elk Grove Animal Shelter showed up at her home two days before that deadline unannounced and seized Zeus for failing to arrange a kennel for him.
Bodycam footage obtained by DailyMail.com shows officers talking to Kabir before attempting to grab Zeus, who was on the line. At one point, he can be seen lunging at an unidentified officer and biting him.
Animal Control Officer Crystel Mocek and an Elk Grove Police officer showed up unannounced at Kabir’s house in July to seize Zeus
Kabir talking to officials on July 15, 2022 outside her home in Elk Grove
Recalling her outrage when the animal ambulance showed up to seize Zeus, Kabir said, βI had to put my baby in this dark van. He had no idea what was wrong with him,” she said through tears.
βHow can you torture a puppy like that and isolate him from the world. I haven’t seen him and haven’t had any contact with him.’
Saturday it will be three months since Kabir was separated from her dog. She said she cries every day.
βI would give him hugs and kisses every minute. He was never left alone. He was such a good boy. How can a man do this?
“This is the United States of America and the treatment of my dog ββis brutal and inhumane.”
A photo of the dog bites the man sustained during the May 16, 2022 incident
Faryal Kabir cuddles with her dog Zeus whom she has not seen since July 15, 2022 (pictured). She is devastated that he may be put to death by city officials, and had been on suicide watch at a local hospital a week ago before being released Tuesday
Kabir’s lawyers say officers harassed their client. “The angry cop then took my client’s dog in an act of authority and harassment, after which the animal service called Kabir two days later and told her they were going to kill her dog.”
Kabir still claims she followed all guidelines, including eight weeks of obedience training, getting a license that classified Zeus as a dangerous dog, and buying a leash and muzzle.
“My client didn’t even follow the rules,” said Kabir’s attorney Andrew Shalaby. βThey had no business going to Kabir’s house before the deadline. In the video, the animal ambulances admitted that they were early to seize the animal.β
Shalaby, himself a dog lover with two German Shepherds, said the officers had also gone to Kabir’s house on July 13, two days before the deadline. Zeus’ fate was eventually sealed after he bit a police officer during that visit.
‘The officer [Animal Service Officer Crystel Mocek] got upset that my client refused to let her in before the compliance deadline β and then two days later β on July 15, they showed up in a spiteful manner.”
Kabir, has no children or partner of her own and calls Zeus her ‘best friend’ and ‘whole world’
Zeus who makes friends everywhere, likes to play with children, adults and other animals, claims Kabir
Shalaby and attorney Christine Kelly of The Animal Law Office have filed two lawsuits in both state and federal courts to prevent Zeus from being euthanized.
Kelly, who is handling the federal portion of the case, told DailyMail.com she “don’t understand why the city is being so drastic.”
“The alleged bites are very minor and do not reach the level of the death penalty,” she said. “I think they use Zeus as an example and are afraid to back off for fear of being accused of being wrong.”
On Wednesday, Shalaby filed another lawsuit in state court β called a preliminary injunction β calling on the city to release Zeus on the grounds that they seized him before the law allowed them.
βIt’s beyond cruel. That dog is 100% innocent,” he said. “It’s a deliberate and unwarranted revenge on the part of Agent Moses.”
Kabirs’ lawyers say Zeus only bit the officer to try to “defend himself” and that the dog’s attack was unprovoked.
David Tyra, the attorney representing the city of Elk Grove, told DailyMail.com on Thursday that “he was unable to comment on the case as it is an active process.”
When DailyMail.com contacted Elk Grove Animal Shelter regarding Zeus, an Elk Grove police officer responded, saying that “the only released statement is on the city’s website.”
Dog owners are no longer allowed to place their own pet in the dog rice cart, animal welfare services have to do it.