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Katrina dogfight lands in courtroom

A New Orleans family brings a judge and lawyers into the fray as it tries to get pets back.

By DEMORRIS A. LEE
Published July 6, 2006

	[Times photo: Cherie Diez]
	Steven and Dorreen Couture with their grandchildren, Steven Couture, 4, and Cassidy Couture, 7, during a news conference last week at Pinellas County Animal Services. The family was separated from their dogs during Hurricane Katrina and traveled to Florida to appeal for the return of the pets.
	[Times photo (2005): Brian Cassella]
	Hillsborough prosecutor Pam Bondi at home with her St. Bernard, Noah, who was adopted after being rescued from New Orleans. He had belonged to the Coutures before Katrina struck.
	[Special to the Times]
	A Couture family photo shows Nila, foreground, and Master Tank in 2004. Update: Judge sets hearing
	Master Tank or Noah? Should the new owners of the dogs adopted after Katrina return them to their original owners? Yes, absolutely No way

CLEARWATER - Fighting in the court of public opinion didn't work, so a Louisiana family has taken its fight to regain two dogs lost in Hurricane Katrina to the Pinellas County courthouse.

In a lawsuit filed Friday in Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court, Steven and Dorreen Couture contend that the Humane Society of Pinellas negligently turned over their two dogs to two Tampa Bay area residents who will not return them.

In a case that is gaining national attention, the Coutures asked for an immediate hearing to determine whether the St. Bernard and the shepherd mix should be returned to them while their lawsuit is pending. The couple and their two grandchildren were displaced after the August storm and are the dogs' original owners.

A hearing on the case has been scheduled for Tuesday before Circuit Judge Henry J. Andringa.

The hearing is to determine who, "with reasonable probability, is entitled to the possession" of the dogs "pending final adjudication of the claims of the parties," said a three-page order Andringa signed Wednesday.

The Coutures' complaint states that the Humane Society was negligent when it allowed Pam Bondi, a Hillsborough County prosecutor, and Rhonda Rineker of Dunedin to adopt the dogs.

"They don't have a lawful right to retain possession of the two dogs because the Coutures have always been the owners," said Murray B. Silverstein, the St. Petersburg lawyer representing the Coutures, who now live in Talisheek, La. Of the Humane Society, he said, the dogs "were not their property to adopt out."

Bondi declined Wednesday to respond to the Coutures' allegations. Bondi has previously said she legally adopted the St. Bernard and that the dog, which she has renamed Noah, was dying.

Rineker has never spoken publicly about the shepherd mix she adopted and again declined to do so Wednesday.

The Humane Society will not be a party at next week's hearing but must respond to the civil complaint within 20 days.

The Coutures filed the complaint after making several attempts to speak with Bondi and Rineker about the return of the dogs. They even made a trip to Pinellas County last week.

"My clients do not want a battle and were very reluctant to enter litigation," Silverstein said. "They just want their dogs back."

Demorris A. Lee can be reached at 445-4174 or dalee@sptimes.com.

[Last modified July 6, 2006, 00:31:14]