While rain poured in Norman Sunday, Chris Rigsby's dog, Buddy, provided with food and water, stood chained to a tree in his back yard.

Rigsby learned too late that it is against state law to leave an animal outside without shelter in inclement weather.

After receiving a complaint from one of his neighbors, animal control officers from the Norman Animal Shelter went to Rigsby's residence, cut through the animal's leash and took the dog to the pound.

But Rigsby said he did provide shelter for the dog.

"My dog was tied up outside with food, water and shelter," he said. "They took him to the pound because he was howling and because he was outside in the rain.

"The only reason he was not in his doghouse was he was looking for my neighbor's dog, which is in heat right now. That's the only thing that kept him out of the shelter."

Rigsby was charged $59 to get his dog out of the pound and was given a ticket for animal abuse, which will cost between $72 and $122 in court.

He said he not only plans to go to court, he plans to file a lawsuit against the city.

"My dog had shelter - he was not neglected."

The animal shelter charges a $20 impound fee, $15 rabies deposit, $16 city pet license and $2 to $5 per day room and board.

Rigsby's neighbor, Shannon McDonald, said she has had trouble, too. She said one of her dogs was confiscated Wednesday from her front yard and the other dog was shot with a tranquilizer and left in her yard Tuesday.

"I don't understand why they shot my dog, Sadie, and then didn't take her in," McDonald said. "I can't find the dart anywhere. What if some of the neighborhood kids finds it? They could really hurt themselves with one of those things."

McDonald said her dogs also had shelter.

"They have a way to get in and out of the house," she said. "But they took one of them to the pound anyway."

Animal control officer Carla Gathright said the dogs were taken because the animal shelter received complaints from neighbors.

"We had complaints that the dogs were running loose and getting close to the road," she said.

Gathright also said McDonald's dog was not shot with a tranquilizer.

"We have records of all the dogs we tranquilize," she said. "This particular dog is not in our records. We do shoot dogs that are unattainable, but we do not just leave them. We're responsible for them."

Gathright defended the animal control's right to confiscate unsheltered animals.

"We wouldn't have taken those animals if they had shelter," she said. "We're not the bad guys - irresponsible owners are. Not one of those dogs had tags."

Rigsby said several neighbors tried to stop the animal control officers from taking his dog but were stopped and threatened.

Gathright said people can get ticketed or arrested for trying to interfere with the officers who are taking in animals.

"But, usually they try to meet some kind of agreement and avoid arguing with them."

Rigsby reported the incident to Second Chance, a nonprofit animal-welfare organization in Norman, Second Chance Spokeswoman Jamie McAloon said.

"After we received the complaint, we called the animal shelter and asked why they took the dog," she said. "They said the dog had no shelter."

McAloon said she conducted interviews of neighbors as well as animal control officers.

"None of the witnesses saw any shelter," she said. "It's pretty clear that there was no shelter that the dog had access to at the time it was confiscated."

At 4 p.m. Thursday, a box-shaped wooden shelter furnished with a blanket, a bowl of food and a bowl of water stood about five feet from where the dog had been attached to the tree.

The chain was approximately seven feet long. Rigsby said the same shelter stood when his dog was taken.

McAloon responded to Rigsby's claim that animal control officers are picking up dogs who obviously have owners and are oveEvents - OU's Campus Activities Council will host CAC Week next week
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