I just sent this to the Kansas City Municipal Court, please forward to anyone who can help. Im thinking I may need to create a petition. Good evening, I am writing to you about a situation that has proved to be very unfair because the true circumstances involved are not being properly documented or presented. My name is Stefana Mihajlovic and I had a court date today, August 13th, 2013 regarding an animal charge. My neighbor, Jill Mahoney, is claiming my dog attacked her dog while he was running at large and the city has labeled him a public nuisance. This is wrong because her dog, stuck his entire head through our gate and caused my Boxer-mix to come after him. Yes, my dog broke through but he was provoked by a dog who was off his leash, barking, and actually penetrated through the wooden gate with his head while Jill Mahoney was down on her knees gardening letting her dog run free. This detail was never documented because after all she is the one who called the police while we were trying to get Django inside, which wasnt a hard task but it took a bit of convincing. The little dog seems to be in great condition now and honestly my neighbor never let us see him or any animal hospital peppers so we dont know if he sustained any injuries at all. She has a personal vendetta against us, maybe because she cant let her dog run off a leash or maybe she wants to put her dog in jeopardy time and time again. Her dog has attacked my grandma and other people who have been by the house while she had him off the leash but because he looks harmless, the city did not take this very seriously. But I believe that the constant provocation of a bigger, stronger dog is a public nuisance and a safety issue as well. My dog has never attacked a human being and the only time he has been violent is when a dog was barking and literally in contact with our fence, the instance Im speaking to you about now. We were treated unfairly beginning from the initial animal safety visit, with the officer demanding to see the black Pit! His papers from Wayside Waifs where I rescued him from label him as a Boxer-mix and so do his veterinary documents. It is not confirmed whether he is a pit or not and there are many breeds who resemble a pit that he could be mixed with. From the beginning I felt the cop and the city building a case against me. We reinforced the gate with wire so that he could not break through again, although he would have never done so if he wasnt provoked. Today in court, I showed up with my main witness, my grandmother and also my mother who was at the house at the time. My neighbor showed up with a fake witness who was not even there when this incident occurred. I dont know what the city is prepared to do, the Judge did not let me or my witnesses speak today and if I hadnt requested for legal aid assistance I feel like I would have been prosecuted to the fullest degree, which apparently could be 180 days in jail and a charge of $1,000. Thats fine and all things I can endure, but for some reason I feel that my dog is in danger of being taken away when he is at a loving home with people who adore him. In fact, there is nobody who doesnt adore him. Hes healthy as can be with the shiniest black and white coat you have ever seen and he is also licensed with the state of Missouri. I have countless videos and pictures of Django (named before the Tarantino movie believe it or not) that show how much of a sweetheart he is. Guests come to the house, he doesnt bark or try and bite them he just jumps on them and tries to be affectionate. Although, sometimes his advances are denied because he likes to sit in peoples lap and lick their faces whole. Hes the sweetest dog you will ever meet and I am scared for his well-being now. Especially with the addition of a fake witness by my neighbor. Jill Mahoney is police calling happy and if we were anything like her, we shouldve called animal safety when her dog physically attacked my family members. But we are nothing like her. She leaves her dog for 8 hours a day and I have video tape of him barking for all hours of the day with no breaks in between. Django is never ever left alone, there is someone ALWAYS at the house whether its my mother or grandmother. I dont know what to do, I have applied for legal aid but I dont know how far that will get me. I am concerned because 1.) I truly love Django and he is innocent, and 2.) I feel cornered and like theres a case against me and my dog that is truly unfair and its all stemming from the assumed breed of my dog and the assumption that the said breed is violent, in addition to my neighbors personal vendetta against me. Please let me know if you have any insight on this matter or if you can forward this information to someone involved in this case or to anyone that can assist. Thank you for reading, Stefana Mihajlovic
Posted on: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 18:28:35 +0000