SPRINGDALE (KFSM) - A man in Springdale is going to court in hope of saving his dogs life.
This after his dog broke loose and bit a city employee.
“I’m missing my best friend,” said Jesus Marquez, the dog’s owner.
Marquez says his dog, Poseidon, broke loose while he was on vacation.
Poseidon, a Siberian Husky, and his female partner Storm, broke out of the family’s fenced yard in July.
An animal control worker attempted to catch the two stray dogs.
“My dog kind of got scared, either for him, or our female, and he ended up jumping up,” Marquez said.
Poseidon had bit the worker on the lip, an offense which is punishable by the city.
“Any animal that has bitten, or attempted to bite, a person or domestic animal can be issued a ticket for running at large,” said Courtney Kremer, Director of Animal Services in Springdale. “Dogs are usually the most common offenders.”
Poseidon was taken to the Springdale Animal Shelter, where he remains.
“We hold them until the court determines what to do with them,” Kremer said.
Marquez says he wants his dog back.
“It’s been two months now,” Marquez said. “Every day that he is there, I am charged $20.”
Marquez believes that Poseidon was simply defending Storm.
“I take him everywhere with me. He has never had a problem with nobody,” Marquez said.
Poseidon faces possible banishment from city limits, or even euthanization.
Marquez is represented by Chad Atwell. Atwell says he plans to file a civil lawsuit against the City of Springdale.
"I plan to file a motion challenging the constitutionality of the ordinance in question," Atwell said. "The government cannot just take someone's property without due process."
“Worst case scenario is that they are going to put him down,” Marquez said. “He’s not just my best friend, he is like my son, you know? And, it would be hard.”
Marquez says that his other dog, Storm, is impacted by the dog being held at the shelter as well.
“She still howls every single night because she has had him every single day of her life, and they have never been apart,” Marquez said.
Shelter officials say that not all dogs that are charged are vicious. They say it depends on each individual animal’s personality.
Marquez says his dog isn’t vicious, and that he can tell by the way Poseidon reacts when he visits him in the shelter.
“I’ve never had someone make me feel like they miss me that much,” Marquez said. “Every single time he sees me, he runs circles and he jumps on me, licking me all over, he makes me feel nice whenever I see him.”
Marquez's lawyer agrees.
"[Poseidon] is a sweet dog, and I plan on doing everything I can to make sure he stays alive," Atwell said.