FORT WORTH -- A state district judge extended her order preventing the euthanizing of two pit bulls that were declared dangerous dogs last month after they charged the next-door neighbor.
State District Judge Melody Wilkinson not only extended her temporary restraining order protecting the two dogs -- Lilo and Stitch -- for two weeks but she also granted the owners, Rana Soluri and her daughter Lauren, access to them. Previously they had not been allowed to visit them.Wilkinson also postponed any further discussion about the constitutionality of Fort Worth's dangerous dog ordinance until next Monday to allow attorneys time to prepare for their arguments.Rana Soluri, along with the Lexus Project, an organization that provides legal assistance to dangerous dog owners, sued Fort Worth and the animal control department stating that the city's ordinance is unconstitutional because the appeals process for fighting that designation is flawed.The ordinance states that people can appeal civil cases decided in municipal court. But the Texas Legislature chose to send appeals in civil municipal court cases, including dangerous dog rulings, to county criminal courts, which have no jurisdiction in civil matters."This is a flawed law," Rana Soluri said. "I'm not going down without a fight. My dogs did nothing wrong."In its response to the Lexus Project lawsuit, Fort Worth argued that the organization is a trust and that under Texas law cannot file a lawsuit.The city also argued that the lawsuit conflicts with the Separation of Powers Doctrine in the Texas Constitution that states that the court has no jurisdiction to interfere with the city's authority to enact legislation."The city has the discretion to enact ordinances to regulate dangerous animals. It is fundamental that cities have the legislative authority to create and amend ordinances," documents filed by the city state.The controversy began in late August, when the dogs broke through a fence separating Soluri's back yard from that of her neighbor, Leslie Miller.Miller told the Star-Telegram previously that she was in her back yard with her 6-month-old German shepherd puppy when the two dogs charged her, chasing her to the back door of her house. Miller said the dogs had gotten loose on other occasions and that she "had enough."Miller filed a complaint with Fort Worth animal control officers.Elizabeth Campbell, 817-390-7696Twitter: @fwstlizHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
