A judge has determined that the first hearing in the do-over court case between the city’s animal control services and the Pet Company at Hamilton Place will be Aug. 18.
Judge Donald P. Harris set next week’s hearing to deal with issues involving 19 puppies from the pet store that are still at the McKamey Animal Care and Adoption Center, which handles the city’s animal control.
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The trial to determine whether the Pet Company violated city code on animal cruelty charges has been set for October, according to Karen Walsh, McKamey’s executive director.
“The puppies need to be with families – that’s the bottom line,” Walsh said. “It’s not ideal for them to grow up at the center. But hopefully this hearing will make sure they are taken care of before we move into other proceedings.”
The case, which began June 15 when McKamey and city workers raided the store and accused it of 90 animal cruelty violations, is the longest-running city court has ever seen, according to City Judge Sherry Paty.
She oversaw the case until July 26, when she declared a mistrial and recused herself from the case. Paty cited a July 1 e-mail from Mayor Ron Littlefield urging her to not “leave McKamey holding the bag” for expenses related to the case.
Paty called the mayor’s e-mail “improper” and said it could taint public perceptions of her ruling.
Littlefield said he has no regrets sending the e-mail and doesn’t think he did anything wrong by doing so.