Animal advocates challenge state's dog death penalty

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A federal judge is being asked to decide whether Connecticut has violated the rights of dog owners by holding animals deemed dangerous for years on what amounts to a canine death row.

This week’s hearing comes in a class action lawsuit. The dogs involved include Kato and Kleo, a pair of Rottweilers who have been held since being ordered destroyed in 2012.

Kim Miller, the dogs' owner, says the pair got out of her Hamden yard and bit a neighbor only after they were attacked.

Her lawyers say the state has no standards for determining when an animal should be euthanized, leaving it to the discretion of local animal control officers.

They say that is a violation of due process and an unreasonable seizure of property.