Dogged by animal officer, lawyer says castration case is a 'monumental waste of resources'
A New Orleans lawyer is citing the Constitution and a “monumental waste of resources” in a motion seeking to toss a summons in a case targeting him for failing to renew a “certificate of intactness” for his dog.
Lawyer Arthur Lemann III labels the certificate a “scarlet letter” for dogs that aren’t spayed or neutered. Certificates must be purchased from the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The New Orleans Times-Picayune posted his motion (PDF).
Lemann said his problems began after his Cairn Terrier, Kelso, got loose in January 2014 and was taken to the SPCA. Because Lemann couldn’t produce Kelso’s veterinary records on a weekend, the dog was held until a Monday. “Parenthetically,” Lemann wrote in a footnote, “it should be noted that the undersigned has been able to obtain the release of some of his clients with less difficulty than it took to spring Kelso.”
At the time, Lemann was given a choice of paying $50 to neuter Kelso or $75 for the certificate of intactness. He paid for the certificate, but didn’t know it had to be renewed until an SPCA agent showed up at his door in April 2015 and cited him for failing to renew the certificate and failing to have a current rabies tag,. Lemann got the new rabies tag and got both charges dismissed at a May 7 hearing.
The same SPCA agent showed up at Lemann’s home again in June, and Lemann “declined to answer the agent’s interrogation,” resulting in the summons.
Lemann sees an equal protection violation, because dog owners are treated differently than cat owners. “There is no rational basis to conclude that an intact dog poses any more of a public health threat to humans than does a horny tomcat,” Lemann writes.
Lehmann argues there are other constitutional violations, including a ban on unreasonable searches and seizures because his dog can be apprehended for impoundment.
He also asserts that it’s up to the prosecutor to prove that Kelso has not been castrated, “and the defendant and Kelso ain’t talking.”
Typo corrected on June 29.
