Fur flies in court after dog bites way to death row 

BY KIM NORTH SHINE
 

FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Every evening for the last 22 months Hiroshi and Seiko Ikuma have taken a dinner of chicken livers or beef, a dessert of donuts, pancakes or French toast and a toy and locked themselves inside a 3-by-5-foot pen at the Humane Society of Huron Valley. 

There, the Ann Arbor couple visit their dog Ato as he sits on death row waiting for a judge to decide on a stay of execution. 

The decision was postponed once again Thursday as the case, which has ignited fear in an affluent Ann Arbor neighborhood and an international Save Ato movement in cyberspace, is prolonged by appeals and lawsuits over whether the habitually biting dog is a threat to the public. 

Ato, pronounced Otto, was locked up to be destroyed after he attacked a 13-year-old newspaper boy in August 1998. It wasn't Ato's first bite. 

"We have never missed coming to see him. We have sacrificed everything. We have had no vacation. I have taken a temporary leave of absence from my job," said Seiko Ikuma, Ato's mistress. "We try to be happy when we visit. We hug him. We calm him, we wipe his eyes. He's hungry for our friendship." 

To the Ikumas -- he, 68, and a retired University of Michigan biology professor and she, 63, and a Department of Justice translator -- 7-year-old Ato is a child they love to spoil. They have grown children. They also have another dog at home. 

To city officials, the chow-chow is dangerous and is an attack waiting to happen. 

"It's sad watching the Ikumas go through this, but they should have gotten rid of this dog on Day 1. If all he had done was chase the paper boy and bit him on the heel, we would not be here. But this is extreme," said Ann Arbor Assistant City Attorney Robert West. 

According to court records, Alex Newton of Ann Arbor cracked open the front door of the Ikumas' home in northeast Ann Arbor and dropped a heavy Sunday newspaper on the floor. That startled Ato. He chased and attacked the boy from behind. Alex's father pulled the dog off. Alex received 13 stitches, mainly in the buttock. 

"After he left the hospital, he said 'I refuse to let this destroy my love for dogs,' " Alex's mother, Coco Newton, said Thursday. 

In December 1998, a jury found Seiko Ikuma not guilty of owning a vicious dog, which meant Ato could go home. 

But the city filed a civil lawsuit under dangerous-dog laws. 

Ato was found to be too dangerous by 15th District Judge Julie Creal Goodridge. The Ikumas appealed. Washtenaw County Circuit Judge Timothy Conners upheld the decision and sent the case back to Goodridge. 

The Ikumas were in Goodridge's court Thursday, asking that she disqualify herself and grant a stay of execution pending a Michigan Court of Appeals hearing. 

Goodridge refused to recuse herself. The Ikumas' attorney, Ray Mullins, is now waiting for another judge to hear the request. 

Meanwhile, Save Ato supporters worldwide talked about Ato via the Internet. 

"I became very much upset that this case was lasting so long. A dog has been prisoned for months for doing only what can be expected from a dog," wrote Peter Wellinga, who created the Save Ato Web page from his home in the Netherlands. 

Ato has a history of biting. 

There was the woman who stuck her hand through the cracked window of the Ikumas' car, where Ato sat. And there was the trainer hired by the Ikumas. She testified that the dog reacted naturally to her training and was not a threat. 

The Ikumas have a history of owning biting dogs. 

In 1993, their two Australian shepherds were euthanized after biting at least three people. 

Seiko Ikuma said they won't agree to put Ato down because he was protecting his territory. 

From 1979 to 1996 there were eight fatalities from chow-chow attacks nationwide, the sixth-most of any breed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Pit bulls ranked at the top. More than 4.7 million people are bitten by dogs each year, the CDC says. Of those, 10 to 20 die. 

"If Ato was out running loose or on a leash and bit someone, that is totally our responsibility and that is our fault. We would have to apologize to him and sacrifice him," Seiko Ikuma said. 

Mullins says the courts have ignored important evidence. 

On Tuesday, he filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Ikumas against the City of Ann Arbor, several city employees and the Newtons for failing to properly investigate the incident and for defaming them. On Thursday, Mullins filed a lawsuit against the Humane Society of Huron Valley, claiming it has violated the Ikumas' civil rights by denying them adequate service and treating them poorly. 

The Save Ato Web page can be found at www.angelfire.com/pe/otto

Contact KIM NORTH SHINE at 810-469-8085 or kshine@freepress.com.

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