Man Files $5M Lawsuit, Claims Shelter Secretly Adopted Out Dog

BAY SHORE, NY - A Brentwood man recently filed a $5 million lawsuit claiming that the Town of Islip animal shelter in Bay Shore allegedly found his missing Belgian Malinois and secretly adopted the dog out to someone else in 2018.

According to lawsuit filed with the Eastern District of New York, Clifton Benjamin, a TSA canine handler, lost his then 1-year-old dog, Eto, who was allegedly turned into the shelter on 210 S Denver Avenue. Benjamin says he went to claim the dog but was denied for almost a month and in that time, the dog was adopted out to someone else.

"This is the equivalent of finding a Ferrari at a used car dealership," Benjamin's attorney, Vesselin Mitev, of Ray, Mitev & Associates, LLP, said. "The outrageous behavior of those sworn to reunite animals with their owners cannot go unpunished. We must find Eto. We know he is out there and we demand him back."

Belgian Malinois dog are typically trained for tracking or security and are even the preferred canines for the U.S. Secret Service. A fully trained Belgian Malinois can be sold for between $20,000 to $40,000.

Benjamin, who brought Eto over from the Netherlands, claimed to have all the pedigree information for the dog including his pet passport, the shipping/tracking information and vaccination records. The canine was also microchipped.

According to the lawsuit, Eto was lost on Sept. 18, 2018 and taken to the shelter that same day. The following day, Benjamin says he went to the shelter with the proof of ownership, but was allegedly told by an employee at the shelter that he needed additional proof. Then, Benjamin claims in the lawsuit that after some back-and-forth with the shelter via email, he eventually returned to the shelter on Oct. 14 where he allegedly was told by a shelter employee that Eto was adopted out.

In a statement, a town spokesperson said that several people came to claim the dog but none could prove ownership.

"The plaintiff had no physical paperwork in his name, and what he did have, included inaccurate information including a chip number that did not match the chip number in the dog," the statement reads. "The plaintiff admitted to giving the dog to a third party. The dog was brought in on September 14th, 2018 and adopted on October 5, 2018. We received several inquiries. We did more than our due diligence in looking for a responsible owner. The dog was ultimately adopted out to a retired NYC police officer with no relationship to the Town of Islip. This is a frivolous lawsuit and will be vigorously defended by the Town of Islip."