A court case is causing headaches at Tulsa's animal shelter

Tuesday, April 12th 2005, 6:16 am

By: News On 6

The Tulsa Animal Shelter is running out of space because of a pending court case. Almost 70 dogs are evidence in one court case, and they're creating problems for other dogs that need a home.

6 in the Morning reporter Omar Villafranca says about one in five dogs at the Tulsa Animal Shelter is evidence in an illegal dog fighting case. The shelter doesn't have much room left. That means less time before the shelter has to put down other dogs.

The state seized more than 80 pit bulls last year in Hughes County. They allegedly belonged to LaShon Johnson, the former Northeastern Oklahoma A&M and NFL football player. State officials say he was organizing illegal dogfights. While his case goes through the Hughes County Courts, the Tulsa Animal Shelter acts as a holding cell.

The shelter usually holds stray dogs longer than the three day requirement if they think the dog can be adopted, but with space running out in the Shelter because of the Johnson case, regular strays have their time cut short.

18 pit bulls have already been put down because the state said they were too dangerous to adopt, leaving 51 other dogs as evidence. Shelter officials hope they can find homes for their dogs, before it's too late.