Animal advocates are suing the city to save a 4-year-old mutt named Jake who officials want to euthanize fearing he may have rabies because he was used in illegal dog fights.
The Lexus Project saved Jake from doggy death row earlier this week and the group is asking a Manhattan Supreme Court judge to approve an adoption.
The advocates say the city’s alternative to execution– a six-month quarantine– would also be a death sentence for Jake because he would not be able to survive the isolation as he is suffering from bite wounds on his head and legs.
The 75-pound mixed breed’s attorney, Susan Chana Lask, told the Post in an interview that the battered pup was “left for dead” and picked up by Animal Care and Control earlier this month.
“He was obviously used as a bait dog in fighting rings and then left to be disposed of, not thinking that an attorney would jump in and say ‘We’ll be his voice,’” Lask added.
The activists want to adopt the brown and white pooch and nurse him back to health. They have raised almost $3,000 for the cause.
They believe he does not have rabies because he has a microchip and is neutered—indications that he was once a pet and received vaccinations.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Alice Schlesinger ordered The Lexus Project to return to court this Friday with a plan for his care.
Jake is currently at a city shelter in Harlem.
The city’s Law Department said, “Animal Care and Control takes great pains to balance public health and safety concerns with an animal’s well being and has been providing regular veterinary care to Jake. We will be addressing the petitioners’ claims in greater detail at Friday’s court appearance.”