Floyd J. Boudreaux sues Louisiana SPCA

External Since: Oct 15, 2009 Posts: 3

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/64332682.html

Vindicated family sues SPCA

* By RICHARD BURGESS
* Advocate Acadiana bureau
* Published: Oct 15, 2009 - Page: 1BA

LAFAYETTE — A father and son acquitted last year on dogfighting
charges filed a lawsuit Wednesday for restitution from the animal
welfare group that killed their prized pit bulls.

Floyd J. Boudreaux and his son, Guy Boudreaux, are also seeking
damages from the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals for mental distress and loss of income from the sale of the
pit bulls’ offspring.

A judge last year acquitted the father and son on dogfighting charges,
citing a lack of evidence.

But the 57 “Eli” pit bulls that State Police had seized from their
home in a 2005 raid had long since been euthanized by the SPCA.

The Boudreaux’s attorney, Richard Dalton, said the Boudreaux family
had bred the internationally known “Eli” bloodline of pit bulls for
more than 100 years and the destroyed dogs were valued at about
$300,000.

He said that figure does not include the price the dog breeders could
fetch from future offspring. Testimony at the Boudreaux’s trial last
year raised questions about who authorized the killings.

State law allows for the killing of suspected fighting dogs under
certain conditions, but there are provisions for dog owners to
challenge euthanasia and to post a cash bond to pay for the cost of
boarding the animals pending trial.

The state trooper who investigated the case testified at the
Boudreaux’s criminal trial that he believed the SPCA would house the
animals and did not know the dogs would be euthanized.

A representative from the SPCA testified that no one person at the
nonprofit animal welfare group made the decision to kill the animals
but that there was a general assumption that the dogs would be
euthanized.

Dalton said the killing of all 57 of the Boudreaux’s dogs has
effectively ended the family’s legacy of breeding the “Eli” bloodline..

He said the raid and subsequent killing of the dogs was so distressing
to Floyd Boudreaux that he “had a heart attack five days after it
happened.”

A telephone message at the SPCA’s New Orleans’ office was not returned
Wednesday afternoon.

The lawsuit was filed in 15th Judicial District Court in Lafayette
Parish.

External Since: Oct 15, 2009 Posts: 3

http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20091015/NEWS01/910150325/Pit-bul...reeders

October 15, 2009

Pit bull breeders sue SPCA

Claire Taylor
ctaylor.RemoveThis@theadvertiser.com

Two Youngsville men acquitted in 2008 of dogfighting charges are suing
the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for
euthanizing their pit bulls.

Scott attorney Richard Dalton filed the lawsuit in 15th Judicial
District Court on Wednesday on behalf of father and son Floyd
Boudreaux and Guy Boudreaux.

They are seeking an undisclosed amount for loss of property, loss of
income, and mental and emotional distress.

For about 100 years, the Boudreaux family bred American pit bull
terriers, creating an internationally known breed called the Eli
bloodline and the Boudreaux bloodline, Dalton said.

On March 11, 2005, the men were arrested and 57 dogs were seized from
their Youngsville home after a Louisiana State Police investigation
into alleged dogfighting.

They stood trial in October 2008 and were acquitted of all charges.

According to state law, upon acquittal, all items confiscated from the
Boudreauxs should be returned to them, Dalton said.

"But all the dogs are dead," he said. "There's no more Boudreaux/Eli
breed. The mom and pop direct descendants that would not have been
sold are dead. That's 100 years of breeding that's gone."

According to Louisiana Revised Statute 14:102.6, the law enforcement
officer making the arrest can lawfully take possession of suspected
fighting dogs and "cause them to be humanely euthanized as soon as
possible by a licensed veterinarian or a qualified technician."

But the law further allows the owners to post a bond with the court
"within 15 days after receiving notice of such seizure..."

The Boudreauxs were arrested on a Friday, Dalton said. They were in
jail until Monday and were unable to post a bond on their dogs until
then.

By then, the dogs were dead, euthanized by the SPCA with 24 hours of
being seized in the police raid, he said.

In testimony during their trial, Trooper Jacob Dickinson, a state
police investigator who headed the case, said the SPCA gave
investigators no prior notice before euthanizing the dogs.

The Boudreauxs maintain that they bred the pit bulls as pets and show
dogs, not for fighting. Family pets, including a champion pit bull
owned by a grandson and a pregnant dog, were seized and euthanized,
Dalton said.

SPCA CEO Ana Zorrilla could not be reached for comment.