Is Gus a good boy?

For his 79-year-old Navy veteran owner, the 130-pound German Shepherd is a calming force that helps him keep his balance and live a more normal life. For his neighbors in McClellanville, the dog is a good reason to avoid Baker Street. More than once he charged people on a walk with their dogs to attack. A man and his pet needed stitches afterwards. Another said she broke a rib falling after Gus clung to her little dog.

Doug Holsclaw said receiving the notice in April that Gus was banned from living in the city hit him almost as hard as the loss of his brother 42 years ago. He pursues to bring Gus home.

Much of the case will come down to the description of Holsclaw’s 5-year-old companion.

Gus is a service dog. Gus is a vicious dog. It can’t be both.

McClellanville, a small fishing town of about 600 people about 40 miles north of Charleston, allows dogs to roam freely. Rutledge Leland, who served as mayor for more than 40 years, said the city’s dog laws are brought up at meetings almost every year.

The city has long considered a leash law, holding referendums on the issue over the years, Leland said. But most residents remain opposed.

“We tend to be a community, we wanted people to have dogs, but obviously we don’t want them to interfere with people’s daily activities,” he said.

Rutledge declined to speak about Gus due to the ongoing lawsuit, but said his behavior was an ongoing issue.

“It’s just a bad situation,” he said. “We will try to be fair.”

After a resident asked the city to reconsider a leash law in May 2021, Cecil Mills informed the city council of his encounter with Gus while he was walking down Baker Street. Mills filed a complaint. Holsclaw paid restitution and the case was eventually dropped. Mills said he had no doubts about Holsclaw’s assertion that he needed a service dog. But he doesn’t believe Gus qualifies, and he still won’t allow his grandkids to walk in that direction because he’s afraid of what might happen if Holsclaw’s other dog gets loose.

“Gus came and attacked me. He bit my arm. Bit my dog. I needed stitches. “I don’t understand how anyone thinks he’s not a vicious dog.”

In August, the council had agreed on a new dog law. Leashes would still not be necessary. But any dog ​​deemed a permanent security threat could be banned from the city limits.

Cheves Leland and a friend were walking their little dogs, Amos and Stevie, one morning in April. They saw Gus loose in Holsclaw’s yard and turned back. The next thing she knew was that Amos was in Gus’s mouth. He escaped with four fang marks and Leland was injured when he fell during the attack.

“I’m all for veterans, and I’m all for them having service dogs,” Cheves Leland said. “I don’t think that’s what a service dog would do. We weren’t on his property. We were walking away from the dog.”

The city decided to enforce their new law, giving Holsclaw a week to find a new home for Gus.

Holsclaw and his supporters say Gus’ behavior was exaggerated by neighbors. He said he often took Gus to the shops with him and never had a problem.

“If he was vicious, there would be significant damage to anything he pursues. He never sued anyone,” Holsclaw said. “If you met Gus, you’d love him from the moment he stood up and wagged his tail and looked at you.”

Assistance dogs are not required to have any special certification to qualify under the law. They just need to help in a specific way that helps with a disability.

Holsclaw said he suffered from total hearing loss in his left ear which affected his balance and vision problems in his left eye, injuries he suffered as a Marine. Holsclaw said he lives with this part of his past every day, but never talks about it.

With a cane in his right hand, Gus walks to the left of Holsclaw and “knows exactly what to do to keep me straight”. Gus also helps during Holsclaw’s struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder.

“He’s an expert at what he does,” Holsclaw said. “I depend on Gus a lot.”

State law prohibits interfering with someone’s service dog use, a law Holsclaw’s lawsuit accuses McClellanville of violating, as well as the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“Forcing a nearly 80-year-old veteran to be separated from his service dog when there are a number of other intermediate steps that could be taken is unconscionable to me,” said attorney Ted Corvey. of Holsclaw. “Painting Gus in any sort of image that he’s a vicious or violent or dangerous animal is patently wrong. … It’s a real overstatement on the part of the city.”

Gus has been living at Ziggy’s Dog Parlor in Mount Pleasant since April 26. He weighed 130 pounds when he arrived. He fell to 107, said business owner Kristin Villa, which she attributes to depression.

Holsclaw visits three or four times a week. They can’t get home, so Holsclaw drives her around, sometimes stopping at Tractor Supply or Lowe’s.

“When he sees this dog, he turns into a different person. He’s happy, relieved. And the dog is thrilled to see him,” Villa said.

Villa said Gus might be a bit territorial, but he wasn’t vicious. She said he would let her open her mouth to remove a bone or a treat.

Corvey, a former Charleston County prosecutor, adopted Caitlyn the dog after getting a guilty plea from the man who taped her mouth. He said Holsclaw would agree to a rule that Gus must stay in the house or in the fenced yard.

Skeptical neighbors point out that volunteers from a nearby church built the Holsclaw fence a few years ago to help contain Gus.

The lawsuit claims the city’s ordinance conflicts with state law protecting service animals. Scott Bauries, a law professor at the University of South Carolina, said it might be hard to win with an argument that state law protects a dog deemed dangerous.

“It’s overkill,” Bauries said. “I just think he’s not trying to protect service dogs who themselves are vicious.”

Holsclaw’s lawsuit says Gus’ removal from the city “represents an ongoing health and safety hazard.” That’s what the neighbors say to let Gus stay.