July 20, 2000

By Richard Zitrin

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (APBnews.com) -- Animal liberation activists freed a 7-year-old dog that had been on death row for nearly two years for biting a paperboy, a prominent Michigan animal advocate said today. 

Gary Yourofsky, founder of Animals Deserve Absolute Protection Today and Tomorrow (ADAPTT), told APBnews.com that members of the animal liberation movement broke into the Humane Society of Huron Valley over the weekend and freed a chow chow, Ato, who had been caged since biting a 13-year-old boy in August 1998. 

Yourofsky, who lives about 45 miles away in Royal Oak, said neither he nor Ato's owners, Hiroshi and Seiko Ikuma, took the dog, but he is confident the 90-pound chow chow is safe. 

"I would like to take credit for it, but I didn't do it; I wish I did," said Yourofsky, who has been jailed 11 times for liberating animals, including 1,500 minks he helped free from a Canadian farm in 1997. "This case has been a complete joke. I know that he's safe, he's alive and, most importantly, justice has now been served." 

'Wasn't a real nice dog to begin with'

Ato, whose death sentence has been delayed by appeals and lawsuits filed by his owners, was taken from the humane society outside of Ann Arbor Sunday night, Ann Arbor Assistant City Attorney Robert West said. 

Whoever took Ato cut a hole in the chain-link fence surrounding the animal shelter and cut the lock to the dog's cage, he said. 

"This wasn't some amateur job," West told APBnews.com. "These guys knew what they were doing. I'm sort of surprised they were able to take this animal. Maybe they tranquilized it. This is an animal that's been caged for two years, and it wasn't a real nice dog to begin with." 

Ato (pronounced Otto) was sentenced to die for biting a newspaper carrier who delivered a Sunday paper to the Ikumas' home in August 1998. The dog, who weighed as much as the boy, knocked the youth down and bit him in the buttocks, causing wounds that required 13 stitches to close. 

Significant monetary settlement

The dog's owners and others claim Ato merely was defending his home. Seiko Ikuma was acquitted of a charge of harboring a vicious animal, but a judge ruled the dog should be euthanized after local prosecutors filed a civil suit under state law permitting the animal to be destroyed for his attack on the paperboy. 

West said the vicious nature of the attack on the paperboy merits a death sentence. 

"The [emergency room] doctor said this was the worst dog bite he had seen in 15, 20 years of practicing ER medicine," West said. 

He said the $60,000 settlement that the Ikumas' homeowners' insurance company paid the boy's family is an indication of the seriousness of the attack. The settlement is about four times the typical settlement in the Ann Arbor area for a dog bite, West said. 

"That should put into perspective the severity of this incident," the prosecutor said. 

History of biting

Ato has a history of biting people, including the daughter of a friend whom the Ikumas were visiting, West said. 

He also bit a woman who stuck her hand through an open car window, although the woman was at fault in that incident, he said. 

"The best one was when the owners hired an animal evaluator to evaluate the dog's temperament ... and the dog jumped up and bit her in the arm on the way to the neck," West said. 

Ato was at a private shelter until last fall, when the veterinarian at the shelter said the dog had to be moved after it attacked the evaluator and another dog at the shelter, West said. 

He was then moved to the humane society shelter, where he remained until this past weekend. 

Emotional outpouring

A judge ruled last October that the dog should be put to death, but a stay of execution was in effect until May, West said. Ato has not been killed, however, because veterinarians fear being sued by his owners and because the humane society does not want to incur any bad publicity for euthanizing the dog. 

"[Seiko Ikuma] is on her fifth lawyer now," West said. "She's dropping lawsuits all over. She's suing the humane society, the city, the kid and his parents, alleging all kinds of things: defamation, the city was negligent in its investigation, the humane society was mean to them. What is really a shame is that as long as the dog sits there, it takes up space that other dogs who could be adopted have to be euthanized to keep this dog around." 

The case has aroused considerable emotion in the community, and scores of supporters have put messages on a Web site seeking to save the chow chow. 

Ato's owners could not be reached for comment, but their attorney, Ray Mullins, said their rights are being trampled by the city of Ann Arbor and the courts. 

He also said the Ikumas, who visited their dog everyday, had nothing to do with Ato being taken from the animal shelter. 

"They're still upset," Mullins said. "They want the dog home. It's unsettling. I hope the dog's being cared for." 

Yourofsky, who also said the Ikumas did not take their dog from the shelter, said Ato's owners should take comfort in that their pet is being well cared for. 

"Unfortunately, they're probably never going to see him again," Yourofsky said. "But if it was my dog that was wrongfully condemned for defending my house and me, I would be happy to know that he's in the right hands and that he's alive."

Richard Zitrin is an APBnews.com national correspondent (richard.zitrin@apbnews.com).
APBnews:http://www.APBnews.com

West should had placed this comment into the right perspective ! That evaluator/animal trainer (Ms. Linda Morin) testified, upon request of the City, that Ato was not vicious and thereof should not be killed !!!!!
It must be noted that this evaluator/animal trainer (Ms. Linda Morin ) in the civil case was called as a witness by the City of Ann Arbor. She affirmatively testified that Ato should not be euthanized. She also expressed the opinion that Ato would not have bitten Alex Newton unless Alex had provoked him.
She stated further that during the test she intentionally provoked Ato. Ato in the process of defending himself by attacking her, only attempted to bite her. Further, Ms Morin testified that Ato's reaction to this test was normal !

"This wasn't some amateur job," West told APBnews.com. "These guys knew what they were doing. I'm sort of surprised they were able to take this animal. Maybe they tranquilized it. This is an animal that's been caged for two years, and it wasn't a real nice dog to begin with." 

First isn't it funny they could just walk in and take this incredibly vicious dog?......have you ever
tried to lift 90 lbs of dead weight?....it would take more than one person.....they likely came in with an animal handler and off they walked with him....and he probably went willingly....hopefully this fact will be pointed out to everyone....the vicious dog is apparently not vicious.....second they knew penning a dog with a tarp to keep him isolated is what is done to make a dog vicious.......so clearly that was the intent of the state....we sort of have proof of that now with West's own quote.

It's very very clear that this Robert West is defending his position.......Just take note what he stated to FREEP in Detroit:
"We're not going to drop this case.We're winning.We just lost the prize" 
This statement says enough about the intentions of the City and the Judges. For them its a power game !
It's advised to read about the true facts: "STANDBY/SUMMARY"