Luna Inspires a New Initiative

While Luna, Tolland’s , is settling in at her new home after her ordeal as an impounded dog,  her attorney and new owner, Richard Rosenthal, is gearing up to take Luna’s fight to the next level.

The Lexus Project, a non-profit legal group for dogs in need, will be partnering with the Animal Legal Defense Fund to challenge the state, calling the current statutes on disposal orders as unconstitutional.

“The statute is just a travesty,” Rosenthal said, referring to the section on quarantine and euthanasia of biting animals, which still lists offenses such as “worrying deer” as grounds for possibly being put down.

The effort, named the Luna Initiative, hopes to mold Connecticut’s animal disposal statute more along the lines of other states, like Virginia, which Rosenthal says gives judges more discretion over what defines an animal as dangerous.

“I’m hoping to take the initiative and try to fix it,” Rosenthal said, adding that he and fellow attorneys are meeting this week to discuss the statute.

 And Luna, the dog that inspired it all, is taking it easy, getting comfortable at her new home in Massachusetts. Rosenthal has entrusted Luna's care to a friend with lots of Siberian husky experience.

“She’s had so many changes in her life over the past two months,” Rosenthal said. He said that he will decide what’s best for Luna once she is settled.

 Luna was for repeated wandering and for killing a neighbor's pet chickens. A Rockville Superior Court judge after a hearing with the town and the Lexus Project.