Legal battle heating up: pit bull owners vs. Hillsborough County Animal Services

By: Alexandra Hackett

Valrico, Florida - Tyler Burbank and Tiffany Eckart thought their ordeal was finally over. Their pit bull Kane was released from “doggie death row” and into their arms Thursday night.

Kane was locked up for nearly a year. A vet tech dropped him on his head during an exam and when she reached down to pick him up he nipped her on the face. A judge ordered Animal Services to give Kane back to his owners. The agency refused twice.

"Now 24 hours after they release Kane, I get another notice they want to confiscate another dog from the same family," said the couple’s attorney Pamela Walton.

Walton was notified Friday night when county attorneys served them with papers. They want to put down another of Tiffany and Tyler's pets.

"I am not going to let that happen. I am not going to let them take my dog," Burbank said.

About a month ago, the couple says there was a situation on the edge of their property, a teenager on rollerblades with a dog on a leash. They said she got tangled in the line and one of the pit bulls got loose. As Tyler tried to intervene, his dog bit the other on the ear during the commotion. They insist it wasn’t even Bubbles, rather it was their other dog, Shadow.

"How many owners that are irresponsible, and spend $30,000 to fight this tooth and nail?" he stated.

Hillsborough County attorneys and animal control officers maintain the dogs are a danger to society but Tyler and Tiffany vow to protect their pets at all costs.

The hearing is set for Thursday.

Meanwhile, the couple's pit bull that was released from Animal Services last week is at a rehab facility near Bradenton.

Kane had been locked up for so long he needs to be trained how to socialize again with people and other animals.