California woman pleads for help from city officials to stop her dog from getting euthanized

A California woman was put on suicide watch after threatening to kill herself when her German shepherd puppy was put on doggy death row for biting a stranger – and the cop who came to seize him. 

Faryal Kabir declared she wished to end her own life after the 16 month-old dog, named Zeus, was seized by Elk Grove animal control on July 15.

He bit an unidentified man in May, leaving the victim with multiple bad scratches on his legs. Zeus then struck again in July, nipping an Elk Grove Animal control officer who turned up to seize him.

That bite broke the unidentified man’s skin.  

The doomed dog was scheduled to be euthanized at Elk Grove Animal Shelter on Friday, but a lawsuit filed by Kabir, 46, on Wednesday has delayed the execution. 

She filed it after being slapped with a court order forcing her to spend five days at Sacramento Behavioral Hospital from October 6 over fears she’d harm herself. 

Speaking to DailyMail.com, Kabir revealed she’s now suing the city after an ordeal she says has given her nightmares. Her attorney is also seeking $500,000 for injuries and losses Kabir has suffered and $5 million ‘in the event her dog is executed’.

She said: ‘I can’t live without him. He is my baby. My son. My best friend,’ she said.

Faryal Kabir, 46, says she will kill herself if her German shepherd puppy Zeus, pictured above with his owner, is euthanized for biting a stranger – and a cop who came to seize him after

Bodycam video show Kabir trying to restrain Zeus as he lunges at animal control officers trying to seize him. Zeus is now doomed to die by lethal injection for his violent behavior 

A photo of one of the  animal control officers outside of Kabir’s home looking at this pant where Zeus snagged him. Officials had arrived five days early to seize the dog . Zeus was due to be put to sleep October 14, but his execution has been delayed after Kabir sued 

See also  Supermarkets are rationing eggs as shoppers reveal empty shelves and Wetherspoon replaces eggs

Kabir is seen holding Zeus on his leash before he is loaded into the back of the animal control van and taken away  

Kabir told DailyMail.com that the ordeal started on May 16 after she and Zeus returned from a dog park. 

As she parked her car, Zeus was startled when he saw a man nearby and jumped out of the car. The victim, who hasn’t been identified, said Zeus chased and bit him, according to a report with the authorities. 

The victim was treated in the emergency room for his injuries, and reported pain in his legs, difficulty sitting, working, sleeping, and engaging in other normal activities that continued days after the attack. 

About a week later, city officials sent Kabir a letter classifying her dog as a ‘dangerous animal’. 

Kabir was then given a list of requirements, including that the animal be kept within a substantial enclosure, securely leashed or otherwise controlled. She was given 35 days to comply. 

She was also required to set up an enclosure in her yard and place a sign saying she had a dangerous dog, as well as install new locks for her gate and get $100,000 in liability insurance for Zeus. 

However, Kabir says animal control officers from the Elk Grove Animal Shelter showed up unannounced at her home two days before that deadline, and seized Zeus because she had not put a kennel up for him.   

Bodycam footage obtained by DailyMail.com shows officers speak to Kabir before trying to seize Zeus, who was on a leash. At one point, he can be seen lunging at an unidentified officer and biting him. 

Animal Control Officer Crystel Mocek and an officer from the Elk Grove Police showed up unannounced at Kabir’s home in July to seize Zeus

Kabir speaking with the officials on July 15, 2022 outside of her Elk Grove home 

Recalling her outrage when animal control showed up to impound Zeus, Kabir said:  ‘I had to put my baby in this dark van. He had no idea what was happening to him,’ she said through tears. 

‘How can you torture a puppy like this and isolate him from the world. I have not seen him and have had no contact with him.’

Saturday will be three months since Kabir has been separated from her dog. She said she cries every day.

‘I would give him hugs and kisses every minute. He was never left alone. He was such a good boy. How can a person do this? 

‘This is the United States of America and the treatment of my dog is brutal and inhumane.’ 

 A photo of the dog bites the man sustained during the May 16, 2022 incident 

Faryal Kabir snuggles with her dog Zeus who she hasn’t seen since July 15, 2022 (pictured) . She is devastated that he may be put to death by city officials, and had been on suicide watch a a week ago at a local hospital before being released on Tuesday

Attorneys for Kabir say officers bullied their client. ‘The angry officer then took the dog from my client in an act of authority and bullying, then animal services called Kabir two days later and told her they were going to kill her dog’

Kabir still maintains that she followed all of the guidelines, which also included eight weeks of obedience training, getting a license that classified Zeus as a dangerous dog and buying a leash, as well as a muzzle. 

‘My client was not even out of compliance,’ Kabir’s attorney Andrew Shalaby said. ‘They had no business whatsoever going to Kabir’s home before the compliance deadline. In the video the animal service officials admitted that they were there early to seize the animal.’

Shalaby, himself a dog lover with two German shepherds, said the officers had also gone to Kabir’s home on July 13, two days before the deadline. Zeus’s fate was ultimately sealed after biting a shelter cop during that visit. 

‘The officer [Animal Service Officer Crystel Mocek] got angry that my client refused to let her into her home before the compliance deadline – and then two days later – on July 15th they showed up in a spiteful manner.’  

Kabir, doesn’t have children of her own or a partner and calls Zeus her ‘best friend’  and ‘whole world’  

Zeus making friends wherever he goes loves to play with children, adults and other animals, Kabir claims

Shalaby and attorney Christine Kelly with The Animal Law Office have filed two lawsuits in both state and federal court to stop Zeus from being euthanized.

Kelly, who is handling the federal portion of the case, told DailyMail.com that she ‘doesn’t understand why the city is so drastic.’

‘The alleged bites are very minor, and not rising to the level of the death penalty,’ she said. ‘I think they are using Zeus as an example and are afraid of backing down, for fear of being accused of being wrong.’

On Wednesday, Shalaby filed another lawsuit in state court – called injunctive relief – calling for the city to release Zeus on the grounds that they seized him before the law allowed them to do so.

‘It’s beyond cruel. That dog is 100% innocent,’ he said. ‘It is intentional and unjustifiable revenge by Officer Moses.’ 

Kabirs lawyers say Zeus only bit the cop to try and ‘defend himself,’ and that the dog’s attack was unprovoked.

David Tyra, the attorney representing the city of Elk Grove told DailyMail.com on Thursday that ‘he could not comment on the case because it is an active litigation.’

When DailyMail.com contacted Elk Grove Animal Shelter regarding Zeus, a police officer from Elk Grove responded and said the ‘only statement released is the one posted on the city website.’ 

Dog owners are no longer allowed to place their own pet in the dog paddy wagon, animal control services have to do it.