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Animal Law Keyed to Wagman
Katsaris v. Cook
Citation:
180 Cal. App. 3d 256, 225 Cal. Rptr. 531 (1986)Facts
Steven Katsaris lived on a 120-acre plot adjacent to the Harveys’ 80-acre ranch. While Katsaris was away on business, his two Belgian sheep dogs—a female pet and a specially trained male protection dog—were left in the care of two neighbor boys. The dogs wandered away and would not come when called. Later that day, Melvin Cook, a 19-year-old employee of the Harveys, shot the dogs on the Harveys’ property, claiming they were upsetting cattle. Cook disposed of the dogs’ bodies in a ditch on the Harveys’ property.
When Katsaris returned and found his dogs missing, he conducted an extensive search, including visiting neighbors, hiring aircraft, and posting notices. During this search, he twice visited the Harveys who denied seeing the dogs, despite Mrs. Harvey knowing they had been killed. Ten days after the dogs’ disappearance, Katsaris was informed by a friend about the shooting and discovered his dogs’ decomposed remains in a ditch on the Harveys’ property. Katsaris subsequently filed suit against Cook and the Harveys.
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