Enzo the pit bull returns home after 17 months on ‘doggy death row’ in Langley

A Metro Vancouver woman is ecstatic after getting her pit bull Enzo back from "doggy death row."

After 17 months in the custody of the Langley Animal Protection Society, Enzo the pit bull has returned home.

LAPS seized Enzo after he allegedly bit a contractor in his family’s backyard. The animal was placed on “doggy death row,” according to owner Amardeep Haer, who hired a lawyer to challenge Enzo’s detention.

“We brought the first ever constitutional Charter of Rights (and Freedoms) argument on behalf of dog owners, and that was in relation to the warrant itself and the way Enzo was seized,” said Rebeka Breder, the animal law lawyer who argued the case.

“The court agreed that the warrant itself was invalid.”

That decision was released on Aug. 26, but Enzo remained in LAPS custody.

While Haer and Breder believed the court’s decision meant Enzo should be released, LAPS disagreed, and a court date to determine whether he should be returned to Haer was scheduled for Oct. 21, according to Breder.

The parties were able to avoid the need for that hearing by reaching a settlement, and Haer picked up her dog on Friday.

“There is no anticipated ongoing litigation,” Breder said. “The case is over. Enzo’s home. LAPS – and the township, for that matter – and my clients have come to an agreement where both sides are happy with the way things have ended. Or, I should say, as happy as each of them can be.”

LAPS confirmed the settlement in a statement on its website, saying that all provincial court proceedings have been resolved.

“As this matter is now resolved, LAPS will not be commenting further,” the statement concludes.

In an email to CTV News, Haer said the family’s “hearts are so full” having Enzo back.

The Enzo case became a source of tension between the Township of Langley and LAPS, which has provided animal control and sheltering services for the township for two decades.

The township recently announced that it would be terminating its services agreement with LAPS, and cited “recent legal proceedings” that it said highlight “challenges associated with the third-party service delivery model.”

LAPS disagreed with this characterization, noting in a statement that the municipality was already looking at bringing animal control services under township control before Enzo’s detention began receiving widespread publicity.

According to a joint statement from LAPS and the township issued Sept. 15, the parties have agreed to “temporarily stay” the termination of the services agreement and resume negotiations on a future agreement in which LAPS would continue to operate the township’s animal shelter, but would no longer serve as animal control.