Man Saves His Dog From Death Row

A local man has fought an emotional fight for his dog's life for more than three years. Now, a judge has given Cody a pardon. The ruling could impact more than this one case and give hope to other dog owners.

Cody has been on doggy death row in Volusia County since 1999. A judge ruled last week the law keeping him there was unconstitutional and the county needs to look at the way it seizes dogs from their owners.

This whole controversy began three and a half years ago at BC Moving in November of 1999.

Despite two "Beware Of Dog" signs and a fence, a man who wasn't supposed to be on the property went through the closed gate, through the porch and into the business, unannounced. So Cody, the German Shepard protecting the property, bit him twice.

Under state law, any dog that bites twice can be put down. But Cody's owner wasn't willing to let that happen.

Chuck Henshall is excited to be with his dog Cody now and it's with good reason. After all, he's fought three and a half years and spent upwards of $12,000 to get him back.

Email News Sign-Up Multiple Choices - Auto sign-up (RIGHT ALIGN) GET WFTV NEWS HEADLINES BY EMAIL 9 a.m. Headlines Noon Headlines 4 p.m. Headlines News of the Strange Breaking News Alerts He rescued his buddy from a small, Volusia County kennel where in 1999, he was slated to be killed. Henshall appealed but because the county gave it a low priority. Years went by before it even came to court. Then finally, last week, a ruling.

"The tears just rolled down my eyes, just rolled down my eyes," says Henshall.

Cody was free to come home. In the order, the judge ruled that the state law which allows counties to euthanize a dog without first considering if it was provoked or was just being protective is unduly harsh and, therefore, unconstitutional.

It's a ruling Henshall's attorney thinks could have far reaching implications: "So any dog that has been seized under this statute in the state should be returned to its owner. The judge has ruled that the statute is invalid."

In fact, the attorney believes there are likely hundreds of dogs like Cody, slated for death that never got a fair hearing. And many more already euthanized.

"I lost almost four years of his life, but I can live with that. I can lie with that. The rest of our time with me and him, we'll spend it together and it's okay," says Henshall.

Henshall's attorney thinks there's a chance the law could be re-written, but either way says this ruling will serve as a precedent to give to other dog owners in similar situations new legal ground to stand on.

In the meantime, Volusia County says it will have to consider the judge's ruling for future cases. There's no word yet on if it will, in turn, appeal this decision and try to get the dog back.