Judge Dismisses Part of Vet’s Suit in Pug Death

In a setback for the veterinarian who examined Pal the pug, a judge Thursday threw out part of his lawsuit against Los Angeles animal regulation officials.

The ruling that a search of the vet’s office was legal leaves intact Dr. Mel vyn Richkind’s defamation claims against the city, which are due for jury trial Monday.

Richkind was the first veterinarian to examine the dog after its Encino owner found Pal near death, with much of his skin torn off in 1997. Richkind concluded when Pal died that his death was the result of human cruelty.

Lt. Richard Felosky and the city Department of Animal Regulations believed Pal’s death was due to a coyote attack.

That clash lead to a search of Richkind’s offices by city agents who claimed he might have been withholding evidence of a crime.

Both Richkind and Felosky have worked in their profession for about 30 years, and each side sought to portray the other as being less than competent in their dealings.

Richkind’s attorney, Richard Wynne, tried to paint a picture of Felosky leading Animal Regulation officers on a fishing expedition in which they obtained a warrant without probable cause and took items that had little to do with the dog’s death.

But Felosky won partial vindication Thursday. “The search was proper . . . totally legitimate and legal,” said Judge Howard J. Schwab of San Fernando Superior Court after a bench trial that lasted less than four hours.

“In all my years, this is the strangest case I’ve ever been involved in,” said Felosky, shaking his head after the trial. “How can seemingly professional, intelligent, mature people allege that animal cruelty had occurred, claim to have evidence of the cruelty, refuse to turn information over to the investigating agency then turn around and sue that agency for seeking that information?”

Richkind maintained that he was maligned because he insisted that Pal was killed by human hands. “They were adamant about the dog being attacked by a coyote, and they twisted everything to prove their point,” he said.