Humane society seeks
court order against Kagan
The Hawaiian Humane Society is seeking a court order for the immediate return of four dogs from a Hawaii Kai animal breeder under investigation for alleged animal cruelty.
Lucy Kagan was expected to appear at a hearing Tuesday morning before First Circuit Court Judge Eden Elizabeth Hifo to give information to the animal welfare agency about the whereabouts of the dogs.
When Kagan failed to appear, Hifo ruled in favor of the humane society, and an order regarding the dogs is pending.
Honolulu firefighters, responding to a kitchen fire on May 27 in Kagan's townhouse, found 27 dogs and cats crowded into two rooms littered with trash, feces and roaches. The discovery sparked a humane society investigation, which has been since handed over to the Honolulu prosecutor's office.
Kagan could not be reached for comment yesterday. Her last attorney, Scott Strack, recently withdrew from her case.
The four dogs are the last of 14 dogs the humane society says were missing. The society returned the dogs to Kagan July 29.
The humane society wants to find the missing dogs because it says Kagan violated an agreement they had made with her that she move out of her Hawaii Kai home and allow the agency to inspect conditions in her new home. The humane society said it has tried to make about 10 follow-up inspections but did not find the dogs.
Kagan previously told the court she had sold the four dogs. The humane society says she has not supplied addresses of any new owners.
"We gave the dogs back to her under an agreement, and we are not comfortable that the missing dogs are being kept with reasonable care," said Linda Haller, director of the agency's shelter operations.
"We were able to follow up on all but four dogs. We don't know where the four are, how they are being housed, and we must protect them from the possibility of being kept in deplorable and inhumane conditions as they were when they were rescued from Kagan's apartment," said Haller.
Haller said that when inspectors showed up at different addresses she gave in Waimanalo and elsewhere, Kagan and the dogs could not be found.