Three dogs seized and one is euthanized





A routine probation check that led to a skirmish with sheriff’s deputies and injuries to an Agoura Hills couple also resulted in the death of the family dog.

The July 22 early morning probation check on Robert Lowe for a DUI conviction five years earlier caught Lowe and his wife, Christian, by surprise. When Lowe resisted arrest, a scuffle with officers from a Los Angeles County special unit ensued, resulting in minor injuries to the couple and to a deputy.

The Lowes were booked at the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station for obstruction of justice and resisting arrest, and all three of their dogs—blue-nosed pit bulls— were seized by animal control.

The dogs were taken into custody by the Agoura Hills Animal Shelter and the Lowes were required to pay fees to get them out.

Christian Lowe said she paid $100 to have Precious released first, then $200 for Jazz, but the cost to bail out Blue was $600. Lowe said she kept officials at the shelter informed about her efforts to bring the dogs home.

“We were trying to raise money,” she said. “We spoke to them every day. A friend was going to adopt him.”

But then Blue vanished from the shelter’s online inventory.

“I called and was told that Blue didn’t pass the temperament test, so they put him down,” Lowe said.

She said she had been assured her dog would not be euthanized.

Agoura Hills Animal Shelter is considered a no-kill shelter, one that does not euthanize animals that are healthy or treatable.

According to animal control officer Nelson Gonzalez, Blue was surrendered to the shelter by the Lowes because they could not afford to pay for his release.

“We tried multiple times to help (Robert Lowe),” Gonzalez said. “Unfortunately (the dogs) were surrendered and were no longer (their) dogs. There were prior situations at the house. He knew what his responsibilities were. There were many complaints in the past about mistreatment of the dogs.”

Animal Control officer Kelly Miller said Robert Lowe didn’t tell them he wanted Blue back. Kelly said the shelter is not equipped to keep dogs indefinitely, even if the Lowes had expressed interest in getting theirs back.

“We’re not a boarding facility,” Miller said. “(Blue) had been there for two weeks. The dogs were fighting with each other. He didn’t pass the temperament test, which meant that he could not be adopted out.”

She said Robert Lowe had signed a release relinquishing all rights to the animals.

“It was an unfortunate situation,” Miller said.

According to the shelter, the cost to reacquire Blue was high because he had never been neutered, was not micro-chipped or licensed, and there was no proof that he’d had a rabies vaccination.

Miller said Lowe “also had four dogs at his home, which is illegal—even if one of the dogs belonged to his roommate. The legal limit is three. He was hiding them at the house.”

She said the shelter’s goal is to make sure animals are adopted, and added, “The only dogs that are euthanized are those with behavior problems and are unadoptable.”



Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *