the dog bit a woman on March 31, 2025<\/a> when he was injured and she tried to lift him into a car. It seeks unspecified monetary damages from the city, but not from the three employees. Lilly also wants the city to adopt a written protocol for service animals, appoint a disability coordinator and stop considering an animal owner\u2019s housing status when deciding what to do with an animal.<\/p>\nEzra offered no hint about how he would rule but said he saw no \u201cvillains\u201d in the case\u2014only people trying to do what they thought was best. His decision, he said, \u201cshould not be taken as a condemnation of either party.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Major,]()
<\/p>\n
Major, a Belgian Malinois, poses for a photo in Las Vegas, Nevada. Courtesy of Shane Lilly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Shane Lilly<\/p>\n
Ezra spent about 90 minutes hearing from lawyers for Lilly and the city, asking how Major came to spend more than 545 days in an isolated kennel without physical contact with people. At one point, Ezra said the shelter\u2019s primary responsibility was public safety and that \u201call animals are not alike.\u201d He cited the 2023 fatal mauling of a man by two dogs in San Antonio as a reason the city must weigh the risks.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Kennel 600 at Austin Animal Services, where Major has been held as his owner fights a euthanasia order<\/p>\n
Sara Diggins\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
Ezra also said federal courts generally cannot second-guess state court judgments unless a case presents an independent federal claim. Lilly did not raise his disability-rights claim in the state court proceedings, though he presented evidence that Major had been registered as a service animal through an online company, U.S. Service Animals.<\/p>\n
Lilly previously told the American-Statesman that he relied on Major for companionship and help with mobility tasks after suffering a traumatic brain injury. Major was not formally trained. Lilly said he withdrew the dog from a $12,000 training program when he was a puppy.<\/p>\n
At one point during Tuesday\u2019s hearing, Lilly turned to about half a dozen supporters who attended the hearing Tuesday and flashed a thumbs-up. His lawyers declined to comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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![\"Representatives]()
<\/p>\n
Representatives of the city of Austin exit the United States Federal Courthouse in Austin following the hearing on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026.<\/p>\n
Mikala Compton\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
In a prepared statement, the city said that Ezra had recognized that \u201cboth parties are trying to do their best.”<\/p>\n
\u201cAustin Animal Services will continue to provide care for Major until a decision is reached,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n
The case began last year, when Lilly was walking with Major, a 65-pound Belgian Malinois, in\u00a0Montopolis. The dog was off leash when a vehicle struck him, leaving him with a bleeding leg. Lilly said he panicked and left Major on the porch of a house where they used to live while he went to retrieve his cellphone from a tent about 30 minutes away.<\/p>\n
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While Lilly was gone, two women stopped to help. One of them told Austin police that when she tried to pick Major up, he bit her. Her arms were punctured and had to be stapled by medical professionals.<\/p>\n
The city took Major to the shelter for observation for possible rabies. It later obtained a municipal court order to euthanize him, arguing that he posed a danger to the public. Lilly appealed three times, eventually taking the case to the Texas Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
The state\u2019s highest court declined to hear the case earlier this year, leaving the euthanasia order in place. Lilly filed the federal lawsuit before the city could carry it out.<\/p>\n
![\"Supporters]()
<\/p>\n
Supporters of Major and his owner, Shane Lilly, gather outside the United States Federal Courthouse in Austin during the hearing on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026.<\/p>\n
Mikala Compton\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
Outside the federal courthouse Tuesday, several animal advocates held signs reading \u201cFREE MAJOR.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Jen Kudla, 52, said she learned about the case after the American-Statesman reported on it earlier this month. The story prompted a wave of social media activity, a protest at the shelter and a petition calling for Major\u2019s release that has more than 50,000 signatures.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s a misuse of the city\u2019s resources to be incarcerating the dog in this way,\u201d Kudla said. \u201cIt\u2019s inhumane.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caroline Davis, 58, watched the hearing and said she worried about Major\u2019s welfare during the legal battle.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt should have never gotten to this point,\u201d Davis said. \u201cAnd the city, in my opinion, owes Mr. Lilly.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Shane Lilly and his dog, Major, a Belgian Malinois, pose on a hike. Courtesy of Shane Lilly.\u00a0 Shane…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":456004,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133],"class_list":["post-456003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=456003"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456003\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/456004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=456003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=456003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=456003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}