Husky News

Ollie, stay. Whatcom County Superior Court Judge Ira Uhrig ruled this week that Ollie, a 10-year-old half-Siberian husky, should stay with his original owners.

After a three-day trial Uhrig awarded sole custody of Ollie to Tim and Amy Buecking, denying Lisa Critchlow’s claim that she had a legal right to the dog that had been in Critchlow’s care off and on over the course of several years.

“I’m very relieved,” Tim Buecking said. The fight to keep the dog has cost more than $10,000 in legal fees, he said, “trying to fight for property I had that I’d never given up.”

The fight originated in about 2001, when Critchlow and the Bueckings were living on Lummi Island. Critchlow found Ollie when he went missing, the Bueckings said, and asked to keep him. They declined, but made arrangements with Critchlow to keep Ollie occasionally, which she did many times.

But the arrangement became increasingly strained until Critchlow filed suit in February 2007, seeking custody of Ollie.

The ensuing legal battle included depositions from neighbors, relatives and a veterinarian. The legal dispute was last featured in an Aug. 13, 2007, article in The Bellingham Herald.

The arrangement of caring for Ollie had been a co-ownership or “co-parenting” agreement, said Critchlow’s attorney, Adam Karp. It also resulted in a real bond between his client and Ollie.

The judge did order the Bueckings to reimburse Critchlow for the veterinary bills she paid for Ollie’s care. That amounts to hundreds of dollars, Karp said.

Critchlow may appeal the case, Karp said, perhaps on the grounds that the law in this type of property case didn’t take into account the dog’s needs.

Source:THE BELLINGHAM HERALD