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Ames woman pleads with council to spare family dog for dying partner's comfort
Summary
Julie Tigas told the City Council her partner is in heart failure and that the family's dog, Tyson, has been taken into custody for possible euthanasia; she urged council to direct authorities to intervene, saying Tyson provides critical comfort while the family offered multiple alternatives to euthanasia.
Julie Tigas addressed the City Council during public forum to ask for compassion and intervention after her partner Todd — whom she said is now in heart failure — lost his dog, Tyson, to animal‑control custody and possible euthanasia.
"Tyson's so much more than that...He's a comfort. He's Todd's routine," Tigas said. She described multiple offers to the shelter, including boarding, relocation and live‑in trainer support, and said Tyson's incidents did not meet the city's definition of serious injury. "At this point in Todd's life, we're just asking for Tyson to be with him...a plea for dignity, a plea for kindness," she said.
Tigas said the family had proposed a range of alternatives and that the shelter appears to have treated euthanasia as the first option. She asked the council to "direct those in authority to intervene before irreversible harm is done."
Council response later in the meeting acknowledged receiving Tigas' email and indicated legal avenues and staff follow‑up. During disposition of communications, staff told the council Tigas had been contacted and that, because the council has no direct authority over shelter decisions, her concerns had been escalated through legal channels and to the appropriate staff for follow‑up.
