Every day for the last nine months, Kimberly Stokes visits her dog at Visalia's Animal Care Center.

She brings him food, treats, toys and bedding. Mostly, she tries to bring him comfort.

"I want him to hear my voice," Stokes said. "I don't want him to forget me."

In January, Armani and Mademoiselle — two pit bulls — were quarantined after escaping the Visalia woman's backyard. A judge has deemed Armani "vicious." The pit bull mix has come close to being euthanized, but Stokes continues to fight for her dog's life.

On Oct. 9, Marla Tauscher, Stokes' attorney, filed a lawsuit against the city of Visalia. Tauscher is accusing the city of violating the Visalia woman's right to due process. She hopes the lawsuit will free the 2-year-old dog.

Early one morning

On Jan. 31, Stokes, a nurse at Sierra View Medical Center, woke up to a call from her mother.

Her dogs had escaped her backyard and were at her neighbor's house.

According to court documents, Stephan Stewart, the neighbor, was standing in his front yard when Stokes’ dogs attacked him and his dogs.

“Once I got closer to the garage door, I saw that no one was inside but more blood was on the floor,” said the animal control officer who testified in February. “Stephen showed me his hands where he got bit and told me he was fine.”

Stewart told the officer he had to restrain Armani while the dog was attacking his small dog.

“I’m down there beating on the dog and grabbing it,” Stewart said. “Fortunately for my dog, I think what saved him was, in the process of all this, we were underneath the back end of my car.”

Stokes ran to the house and put Stewart’s dogs in the garage and checked on her neighbor. The animal control officer took her dogs to the city’s animal shelter.

Following the attack, Stokes paid Stewart's veterinary bill of roughly $240.

A Death Sentence

On Feb. 14, Hearing Officer Thomas Hornburg allowed Mademoiselle to be returned to Stokes but said that Armani was "too vicious" to be put back in society.

Hornburg's ruling stated:

"The fact that this is the second incident between the very same parties, that no remediation had occurred after the first incident; Armani is determined to be a vicious animal."

The city's ordinance states that an animal can be euthanized if that animal has been deemed vicious.

Hornburg said his decision was influenced by a previous incident between Stewart and Stokes. During the hearing, Stewart told city staff an attack by Stokes' dogs had taken place a year prior but he hadn’t reported it at that time.

"To clarify, a report was not filed with Animal Services at the time of the attack a year earlier," said Allison Mackey, spokeswoman for the city. "Stokes promised to quit letting her dogs get out. Details surrounding the incident were disclosed during the hearing on Feb. 13 of this year."

Stokes claims the "attack" Stewart is referring to is an incident that happened when her dogs were puppies. She had taken her dogs to her front year — unleashed.

"One of the dogs, which she mistakenly recalled at the time of the hearing was Armani — but later recalled was, in fact, her other dog, Gianni — had gotten a hold of the harness of one of Stewart's dogs but let go when Stokes took the dogs back home," Tauscher stated in the lawsuit. "Armani was not involved in the prior year, nor was he identified or described by Stewart at any time. Stewart simply said there were two dogs."

Stokes said since that time, she has never allowed her dogs to be outside off-leash. Stokes has since fixed her fence and purchased kennels for the dogs.

The battle continues

For months, Stokes has been battling with the city's attorney to have her dog released.

She believes her dog can be rehabilitated and has found a rescue organization who is willing to help Armani.

Stokes is a breast cancer survivor. She won her battle against cancer but lost her ability to have children in the process. She has been at the birth of each of her dogs and said they are part of her family.

"I'm not able to have children," she said. "My dogs are my children."

On Oct. 10, Armani was scheduled to be euthanized, once again. Marla Tauscher filed a lawsuit against the city claiming the city of Visalia has, "deprived [Stokes] of her property without due process of law."

The lawyer went on to claim that by depriving Stokes her rights, city officials are violating the Fourth and 14th Amendments.

Tauscher is an animal rights lawyer and has defended similar cases. She said many cities and counties hold administrative hearings for animals deemed vicious are unconstitutional.

"Administrative hearings have no regard for due process," she said. "I would say this process is a joke but it means death for the dog, so it's not funny."

Tauscher also believes the city has an unfair advantage as city officials hire the judge for the hearing.

"An impartial tribunal hearing officer acts as a judge," Tauscher said. "He's contracted through the city. That creates a presumed bias. How neutral is he? He's not."

She said her client was denied her constitutional right to cross-examine the witnesses. The city ordinance allows for this.

"No one would allow this to happen, but there's no money in these cases," Tauscher said. "These are not multimillion-dollar lawsuits."

City officials declined to comment on the accusations with federal litigation pending.

However, Mackey said, "The dog in question and his owner have a history of not complying with the city’s ordinance."

"Over the course of 2016, Stokes was issued five different citations for a total of eight violations for barking, animal care, public nuisance and failure to license, prior to the attack that occurred in January 2017," Mackey stated.

Stokes said she had been working with her neighbor who reported the barking and had purchased bark collars for her dogs.

When is enough, enough?

Stokes has spent thousands in kennel fees alone — $5,000 as of October. But she said it's not about the money.

She just wants to see Armani freed.

Tauscher has offered to have Armani transferred to a rescue haven. She's received no response from city officials. Mackey didn't confirm whether the city had received the offer.

"He doesn't deserve to die or to be locked in a kennel," Stokes said. "I would be so happy if the city just let him live out his life at the sanctuary."

A preliminary injunction hearing will be held on Nov. 21 at the federal courthouse in Fresno. The hearing will ensure Armani won't be euthanized until another administrative hearing is held.