California officer sues city for failing to pay sick dog's medical bills

Chula Vista police dog handler Curtis Chancellor hugs his K-9 partner, in this photo tweeted out by the department on Sunday. A department spokesman said Griffen, a 7-year old Belgian Malinois, had a medical condition. (Chula Vista police Twitter account/TNS)
Chula Vista police dog handler Curtis Chancellor hugs his K-9 partner, in this photo tweeted out by the department on Sunday. A department spokesman said Griffen, a 7-year old Belgian Malinois, had a medical condition. (Chula Vista police Twitter account/TNS)

SAN DIEGO-A Chula Vista police officer is suing the city because it has refused to pay his sick dog's veterinarian bills.

Officer Curtis Chancellor, a dog handler with the police department, claims his canine partner Griffen contracted a deadly infection while being boarded in a city-contracted facility and passed that infection to the family pet, Chewie.

Chula Vista then refused to pay Chewie's vet bills after the dog showed symptoms from the infection, according to a lawsuit filed last month in San Diego Superior Court.

Griffen was euthanized in March after the infection got so painful that the 7-year-old Belgian Malinois showed signs of "severe pain" and "the inability to move his neck," according to court documents.

At the time, the police department said Griffen "passed away peacefully" from an "unfortunate medical condition."

At the request of a specialist, Chancellor tested Chewie.

Results showed the family pet had a fever and showed symptoms of the same infection that killed Griffen.

Chancellor's lawsuit alleges that the police department paid for the initial testing, but refused to pay for anything else after Chewie showed symptoms of the infection, leaving the police officer to pay more than $1,700 out of pocket.

"My family and I not only had to cope with the loss of my best friend, partner, and pet, but the stress of caring for a sick pet, multiple trips to the vet and possibly losing her like we did Griffen," the lawsuit states.

The city said it is evaluating the lawsuit and declined to comment.

Chancellor also declined to comment.

Chancellor was initially reluctant to file a lawsuit because he and his wife are both city employees. However, they want to prevent this from happening to other people, according to the lawsuit.

"Both my wife and I work for the city and are appalled that it has come to this," the complaint states. "No one should have to go through a situation such as this, and we hope the judge will make a ruling that discourages the city from putting another family through this."

Chancellor originally filed a notice of claim against Chula Vista in November. However, the city rejected that claim because it had been submitted after the six-month deadline from the date of the incident.

However, the lawsuit argues that Chula Vista notified Chancellor of the discontinued payment in May which is within the six-month deadline.

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