$5M Federal Lawsuit Filed In Dog Raid Case

SIOUX FALLS, SD - The Turner County dog breeder who was raided and charged, only to have those charges dropped, has now filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit.  And you might be surprised who could pay up.

It's a case that's gone on for more than a year. Breeder Dan Christensen has told KELOLAND news before he wanted someone to pay for what they've done.

Now he's filed a $5 million lawsuit in federal court against Second Chance Rescue Center, the Humane Society of the United States and Turner County, including several officials. That includes County commissioners, the county state's attorney, both in her capacity as the state's attorney and personally, the sheriff and a deputy, to list a few.

In the court papers, Christensen says those agencies took his dogs illegally. He was then charged with 173 counts of inhumane treatment of animals, all of which were dropped after a judge ruled the search warrants Second Chance used to get on the property were obtained illegally. The lawsuit also says Christensen suffered mental anguish, emotional distress and the loss of his property and business interests because of the raid.