Canine Partners for Life, a Pennsylvania not for profit that raises and trains dogs and places them with those who have physical, developmental or cognitive disabilities, including wounded armed forces veterans, says it was left with no choice but to sue Hernando County Commissioner Diane Rowden, when she refused to stop her media and social media smear campaign that she launched in a last-ditch effort to retain custody of Livy, a 10-year-old service dog.
“We raise the dogs, we train the dogs and it is our responsibility to make sure every dog remains in a safe place for their entire lives,” says Darlene Sullivan, Executive Director of Canine Partners for Life (CPL). “Diane Rowden, who’s a Hernando County Commissioner, has lied to the public and to the media in a stop-at-nothing effort to keep Livy. She never asked. She just took. It’s terribly sad that Livy is caught in this tug of war. But she’s like family to us and we have a responsibility to protect her.”
Up until 2007, Livy was with CPL, when she was transferred from the charity to Bruce Hicks, a paraplegic who utilized a wheelchair. He lived in Pennsylvania at the time but later moved to Florida. In both states, Livy helped him become more independent.
When he was about to enter hospice, Hicks notified the charity. He asked Rowden to care for Livy while he was away. But when Hicks died, Rowden, who had on one occasion filled out routine, bi-annual reports for the charity on Hicks’ behalf, failed to mention it. In fact, the day after Hicks died, Ms. Rowden stated everything was back to “normal” with no mention of the fact that Mr. Hicks had died the day before.
Canine Partners for Life learned from a third party that Hicks had died, and that Livy might still be living with Rowden, but despite repeated emails and phone calls, Rowden could not be reached to confirm it.
Canine Partners for Life said it had to hire a private investigator to find answers, because the dog’s well-being was of great concern.
Lawyers have been involved in this cross-state dog custody battle case for some time. The charity was told a few months ago by one of the lawyers who had represented Rowden that Rowden agreed to return Livy.
Still, the two-term Hernando County Commissioner, who announced earlier this month that she’s again running for re-election, initiated a smear campaign, according to the lawsuit.
“Rowden’s campaign of disparagement, which is intentionally designed to inflect severe financial harm upon CPL, spans across the Internet, social media and traditional news outlets,” the lawsuit says. “Rowden’s attack on CPL was entirely related to the dispute over Livy.”
The 19-page lawsuit seeks to force Rowden to remove all statements and social media posts about Canine Partners and direct her supporters to do the same. Rowden rebuffed repeated requests to do so voluntarily even though she has refused to return Livy as she had promised.
It took nearly two weeks to serve Rowden with the lawsuit, which the charity’s Pennsylvania attorney believes was no accident.
“It is a continuation of her deceptive and dishonest practices that led us to believe that she was an unfit home for Livy in the first place,” says Arthur D. Goldman, Esq.
The lawsuit seeks a jury trial and more than $100-thousand in damages.
For a copy of the lawsuit, Canine Partners for Life v. Diane Bennett Rowden, please use the media contacts below.
ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS: http://thepublicityagency.com/canine-partners-for-life-cpl/
MEDIA CONTACTS
Glenn Selig
The Publicity Agency
Office: (813) 708-1220 x7777
Mobile: (813) 300-5454
email:
Adam Farragut
The Publicity Agency
Office: (813) 708-1220 x7778
Mobile: (770) 881-3034
email:
SOURCE: Canine Partners for Life
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