KINGSVILLE, Texas — A Border Patrol agent is fighting to get ownership of his retired K-9 partner after working together for over five years.
11-year-old Endy ran away from a Kingsville home New Year's Eve when fireworks set off. After being picked up by Animal Control, Endy was given to a rescue group and currently, they do not want to him back to his owner -- Brian Buchanan.
Buchanan has proven through records that Endy is his dog, and the organization claims they will not return him because they believe they have full ownership.
On Monday, Buchanan filed a lawsuit after more than a month of failed attempted to get his dog back. The suit is against two rescue groups, Kingsville Animal Advocates and American Belgian Malinois, along with the City of Kingsville.
Buchanan had known Endy since 2010 when he first trained him and worked with him for almost six years before adopting him in 2016 when he retired.
The lawsuit alleges theft, conversion, defamation of the owner and punitive damages.
Buchanan's lawyer explains that animal control broke city ordinance by illegally releasing him before a total of three business days.
"We've gone through records, city ordinance on when they can release the dog And they released him too early. According to their paperwork on their intake sheet through animal control, he cannot be released until Jan 8. He was released on Jan. 5," Buchanan said.
According to Buchanan, Endy was rescued by Kingsville Animal Advocates and later passed on to the American Belgian Malinois Rescue.
The Retired Police Canine Foundation made a petition to gain attention from lawmakers. Currently, the petition has over 132,000 signatures. -