Assistant Managing Editor

Sunday, March 07, 2010

Jasper attorney Brett Wadsworth has announced his candidacy for State Senate District 5.

Wadsworth will be a candidate in the Democratic primary on June 1. The only other Democrat who has announced his intention to run is Bill Cleghorn. Three Republicans (Howard Garrison and Thad Turnipseed) will be competing in the Republican primary.

Wadsworth is a lifelong resident of Walker County. He graduated from Walker High School in 1992. He then attended UAB, earning a bachelor of arts in political science and a bachelor of science in criminal justice with a minor in business administration. He earned his juris doctorate at Birmingham School of Law and is a member of the Alabama Bar Association.

A passion for his family and community is what Wadsworth said prompted his decision to run for Senate. He has been married to Cindy Cater Wadsworth for 14 years, and they have two children, Hannah (11) and Brodie (6).

“This is a great area and I can’t think of anywhere I had rather raise my children.” he said. “There are many values that must be preserved, but in order to improve areas of common concern, we need fervent representation in the Senate. I am committed to the best interests of the people that entrust me with that responsibility and will passionately represent them.”

Wadsworth said he would like to establish community meetings during his campaign to encourage voters to speak out with their ideas and opinions.

“I really want to hear what the people of our district have to say.” he said.

The economy is what Wadsworth said was the most important issue of this election.

“The past few years have been hard on the people of our district and the people of Alabama.” he said. “I see the goal of the Legislature as uniting and developing plans to get this thing turned around. It upsets me to see state government looking after their personal interest and friends, especially when I see legislation being proposed that excludes parts or all of District 5 from receiving state tax dollars.”

Wadsworth gained media attention last year for his work as an attorney in a case against the Walker County Humane Society. Wadsworth represents Marcus Campbell in the loss of his pet boxer, Boost. Wadsworth said the case has brought awareness to the ever-increasing problem of animal overcrowding in Walker County and surrounding areas.

“I have met lots of wonderful and encouraging people within our county and surrounding areas since the ‘Boost case’ started,” he said. “There are so many changes that need to be made in regards to our pets and the pet population. This is one area where I am determined to make positive change.”

Wadsworth said the case highlights many other problems.

“People become justifiably outraged when tragedy occurs to pets, but we have to become passionate and determined about the men and women that have lost everything, including their jobs, homes, dignity and ability to live independently without the support of government, churches, and their families.”

December 24, 2009
James Phillips Assistant Managing Editor

Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a 10-part series on the Daily Mountain Eagle’s top stories of 2009. The euthanization of a Jasper dog in May by employees at the Walker County Humane Society led the dog’s owner to file a civil suit against the Humane Society and sparked an outcry from animal advocates across Walker County.

The dog, a 1-year-old boxer named Boost, was reportedly brought to the Humane Society by an elderly couple from Jasper in late May. By the day’s end, the dog was allegedly put to sleep.

The dog’s owner, Marcus Campbell, hired Jasper attorney Brett Wadsworth and filed suit on May 26 against the Walker County Humane Society and its executive director Lane Reno. Also on May 26, a statement of claim was presented to the Walker County Commission due to the county’s failure to fund a suitable pound. Wadsworth said Wednesday afternoon two Humane Society employees were added to the lawsuit in October and he intends to add the Walker County Commission to the lawsuit in early January.

“We added the two employees who euthanized the dog in October,” Wadsworth said. “We also will add the Walker County Commission just after the first of the year. They are being added, because they haven’t provided a proper pound.”

Wadsworth said the legal process has been slow, but he expects the lawsuit to move forward in early 2010.

“We are still in the discovery process,” he said. “I think things will start moving forward soon. I expect things to start moving during the first few months of the year.”

Much of the controversy surrounding the incident has been over the short time period between when the dog arrived at the Human Society and when he was put down. Reno said in May that 33 animals were brought in the day Campbell’s dog arrived, and 16 of those were euthanized.

“I hate doing it, but we just don’t have the space or the resources to house all those animals. It’s just not possible,” Reno told the Daily Mountain Eagle in May.

Reno also said in May that a better facility for the Humane Society would allow them to house more dogs.

“We need a new facility and the city of Jasper needs an animal shelter,” she said.

Copyright 2009 Daily Mountain Eagle, All Rights Reserved.

Attorneys for the Walker County Humane Society and Jasper resident Marcus Campbell are expected to be in court Monday morning to find out whether or not more information regarding their pending lawsuit can be released to the public or media.

In May, a male boxer named Boost was brought in to the Walker County Humane Society by an elderly couple and euthanized within an hour of arriving.

In the original story, printed on May 23, Walker County Humane Society Executive Director Lane Reno stated they (Humane Society employees) had to use a catch pole to remove Boost from the pet taxi once an elderly couple dropped the dog off.

“They (the elderly couple) had to bring him here in a pet taxi that they had to borrow from us,” Reno said in the article. “The dog would not come out of the carrier so we had to use a capture pole. That is when he became aggressive.”

Following the release of the original story, the elderly couple in question came forward to give their side of the story, which contradicts Reno’s. Peggy Dunn and James Martin were the last known people to have contact with Boost before he was turned over to the Humane Society.

Dunn and Martin are neighbors of Campbell, the owner of Boost. They both said they spotted the dog roaming around their residence after returning home. Dunn said the dog first made contact with her.

“When I opened the door it jumped up on me,” Dunn said. “It was playful and it let you pet it.”

Both said they did have to go retrieve a pet taxi from the Humane Society, but only after they were instructed to do so by the Jasper Police Department.

Martin said he watched every move the dog made once unloaded at the Humane Society. From his account there was no sign of aggression or timid behavior coming from Boost.

“When they took it (pet taxi) off the truck they took a little old leash and put it on him,” Martin said in an earlier article. “He got out of the box and they went inside, walked down the hallway around in the back and that was the last I saw of him.”

Boost was euthanized approximately one hour after being brought to the shelter. Reno said in the original story she could not tell if the dog was a pet or a stray, therefore the boxer was put down.

“They (Dunn and Martin) brought the dog in about 3:30 and we closed at 4:30 p.m.,” Reno said in May. “It’s not unusual to euthanize an animal once it comes through our doors. I mean we get so many dogs in and there isn’t much room. And Tuesday we didn’t have any space.”

On Wednesday, the attorney for the WCHS filed for an emergency motion for protective order and order to enjoin the plaintiff from disseminating information exchanged in discovery. The Humane Society’s attorney’s office was contacted by the Daily Mountain Eagle, but they did not return phone calls.

Campbell’s attorney, Brett Wadsworth, said this motion should have been filed before the discovery process.

“What that means is they want to keep us from sharing the video tapes and paper evidence that corroborates my client’s story and the story of the witnesses,” Wadsworth said. “But we are filing a counter motion to try to prevent their motion.”

Wadsworth filed a response to the motion for a protective order on Thursday, July 15. In the motion Wadsworth cites various reasons why the defense’s motion should be denied, one of which is the time frame in which the defense’s motion was filed.

“A protective order is before discovery,” Wadsworth said. “They should have asked for the protective order on discovery before they sent me the information. They should have asked for a gag order, but those are generally only done in criminal trials.”

Wadsworth said when the lawsuit was originally filed he asked for the video surveillance from the WCHS during the time Boost was allegedly dropped off.

“When we filed the lawsuit we asked for any video surveillance from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m., but we only got 10 minutes of video,” Wadsworth said. “But the video is actually right in line with what the elderly couple said. The elderly couple were telling the truth, and we never doubted that.”

The Eagle was provided a copy of the video surveillance. The video shows the couple arriving at the Humane Society with a pet taxi in the back of a small pickup truck. The couple gets out of the truck and walks inside the building, returning a few moments later with what appears to be two WCHS employees.

One possible employee, a male, is seen opening the pet taxi and is seen slipping what appeared to be a small leash around a dogs neck. The dog walks out of the pet taxi, hesitates momentarily before jumping off the tailgate and walking into the building.

“The purpose of the video, what we find interesting in the video is that it proves Reno wasn’t truthful with the Daily Mountain Eagle in her May 23 interview,” Wadsworth said. “Once she gave that interview with the Daily Mountain Eagle, she opened her self up for rebuttal. Marcus Campbell has the right to say his dog wasn’t aggressive and here is the proof.”

The hearing is set for Monday and is a part of a motion docket that will begin at 9 a.m. in Judge Doug Farris’ courtroom at the Walker County Courthouse Annex.

(Adobe Reader Required)

“She asked what I needed, and I said, ‘I’m here to pick up my dog that you got in at 4 o’clock.’ She said, ‘The only dog we got in at 4 o’clock was the boxer dog that an old couple brought in.’ I said, ‘Yes, ma’am. That’s him,’ and she said, ‘Wedone put him to sleep.’”

Campbell was too late. Boost was gone. Humane Society Executive Director Lane Reno says the dog came in at 4 and was put down by 4:30. At first, she thought the dog was a pit bull or pit bull mix, and says in those 30 minutes, her staff quickly evaluated Boost’s temperament
“We can have any individual bring a dog in. It’s a family pet. It’s never bitten anybody. It’s really nice, but I guarantee you if it tries to bite one of us while we’re reaching for it, we cannot and will not put that animal up for adoption.”

She says the 55 cages were already full, leaving no room for the moody boxer as the business day came to a close. The lack of space has become quite the issue as more and more strays are dropped off.

But Campbell maintains his dog was well behaved and was not a stray.

“It had a collar, and it was well fed. She should have known it was somebody’s dog.”

Campbell has hired an attorney because he believes there’s a chance the full bred Boost may have been sold. Reno denies that accusation. Meanwhile, the Humane Society’s board plans to meet with Walker County leaders to discuss getting some type of animal control for the unincoporated areas of Walker County.

We first made attempts to contact board members of the Walker County Humane Society to remedy this situation, but once we saw these members were choosing to only listen to Lane Reno’s side of the story, we decided to go public with the truth about the Walker County Humane Society.

http://www.abc3340.com/news/stories/0509/625153.html
http://www.abc3340.com/news/stories/0509/625866.html

FACEBOOK SUPPORT GROUP
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=8458&uid=88055730735#/group.php?gid=88055730735