Middleburg Heights — A Middleburg Heights family, whose dog was taken and held by the city's Animal Control Division 9 months ago, finally got him back.
It should have been a happy ending, but the family says the dog is nothing like he used to be.
Now all of these stories we've done on Middleburg Heights started with a family who says they've been the target of racism and harassment by city officials.
When we learned there were other people having problems with the city, the story snowballed, starting with the tale of the dog. We helped get him back to the family, but not without a fight.
In fact, when I showed up at Mayor Gary Starr’s home, he ran away from me in to his garage, despite the fact as an elected official, he should be answering questions relating to his problems in his city, specifically about the city's Animal Control Warden Laura Takacs.
She's been sued and is accused of illegally seizing and hiding animals, some for months at a time.
The Berry's family dog Nike was taken and held for nine months. They told us, "Every time I ask is he alive? No one will answer."
The city says the dog was seized after he was found running outside without a leash.
I asked the city’s Law Director, Gary Ebert, why it was taking 9 months for them to get the dog back. He explained, “Because there was an issue of how the dog was cared for."
Miraculously, just days later, the Berry's got their dog back. Or one that looked like him.
"We didn't get our dog back,” Dawn Berry told us. “We got a body of a dog that looks like ours. Nike was loving, rolled around, played. Everybody loved him.”
Now he's scared of noises and some family members.
The dog has marks from where he was lying on concrete for extended periods of time, a puncture wound, and the worst of all, kennel cough, all detailed in a veterinarian report she showed us.
A different vet told us that kennel cough is caused by a highly contagious bacteria, often spread in poorly ventilated and crowded living quarters, like a pound.
"He was coughing and choking and throwing up," something we witnessed for ourselves.
Some say it can be spread to humans, especially those with compromised immune systems or respiratory issues.
And Dawn says she contracted the Cough.
"I literally was gasping for air. I could not get any air in. I was trying to take breathing treatments, steroids that I had, but nothing was helping,” she said.
Dawn has a lung condition called Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary disease or COPD, and ended up in the emergency room after Nike came home.
The family says their other dog caught it as well and they now have hundreds of dollars in vet bills, which they can't afford to pay.
"Obviously the system gave up on him, leaving him where he was for months at a time. I don't understand why they did that," she says.
An attorney who filed a $100,000 lawsuit against the Animal Control Officer, the city and Cuyahoga County, is now amending her complaint to make it a Class Action Lawsuit, since other people have come forward.
She believes there are many others who are victims of what she calls a pattern by the city of Middleburg Heights.