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Saturday, July 26, 2008

Animal Shelter Mismanagement Suit Dismissed

By Dan Mckay
Journal Staff Writer
       A state judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit alleging mismanagement of Albuquerque's animal shelters.
    The suit had been filed by animal activist Marcy Britton, who accused the city of improper euthanasia and "horrific" kennel conditions, among other problems. She wanted an audit of conditions inside the shelters and sought a "writ of mandamus" to force the city to follow its animal laws.
    District Judge Richard Knowles dismissed the suit in a brief written order filed Friday.
    City Attorney Bob White said the case was dismissed because Britton failed to show the city wasn't following its animal regulations.
    "The city is pleased," White said. "The city feels that it has appropriately followed the law and carried out its obligation under it."
    Britton, for her part, said the lawsuit was "dismissed on technicalities that were not valid." She maintains that the city isn't following its own animal ordinances.
    "This is just another step," she said. "We're not done."
    Knowles also dismissed counter-claims that the city's animal-welfare director, Jeanine Patterson, had filed against Britton. He said those allegations, which included defamation, can be filed in a separate lawsuit.
    The Britton suit was the latest twist in an ongoing fight over how to care for homeless pets. Mayor Martin Chávez made animal-shelter conditions and pet adoptions a major campaign theme. He shook up the animal program last year by elevating it to a standalone department and hired a registered nurse and the chairman of the state veterinary board to run it.
    Britton has been a vocal critic of the city shelters for years. A previous lawsuit of hers led to a Humane Society inspection in 2000 that revealed painful euthanasia and other problems.