...Well, I'll let the New York Post tell the story:
A male Brooklyn canine narrowly avoided being neutered after a legal dogfight over his virility reached a de facto settlement.Despite the city's insistence he be neutered, a 2-year-old European Shepherd named Shustriy was returned to his owner in one piece after he caught a cold.
To avoid the illness spreading to other animals, the dog was given what's known as a "spay-neuter pass" and allowed to go home.
"The dog developed an upper respiratory [problem] and we released him," said a spokeswoman for Animal Care & Control of New York.
As reported last month, Shustriy escaped from his Brighton Beach home in January and was rescued by workers from AC&C.
But the law requires any animal that ends up in an AC&C facility be neutered.
The owner, Anatoliy Krinitskiy, filed a civil suit to have the dog returned to him without being fixed.
"Shustriy is a valuable dog, that [Krinitskiy] planned on mating, and as a result would suffer great emotional and financial distress if Shustriy were to be sterilized," the lawsuit claimed.