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PETA Sued for Ethanizing Dog on Virginia Eastern Shore

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NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - A family is suing PETA for $9.7 million after they say workers from the organization euthanized their Chihuahua.

The Virginian-Pilot reports Wilber Zarate and his daughter each sued the group Tuesday in Norfolk Circuit Court for $2 million. They are also suing PETA workers Victoria Carey and Jennifer Wood for $350,000 each and are asking for $5 million in punitive damages.

The family says Carey and Wood went to their trailer park home in Oct. 2014 and took the girl's Chihuahua off the family's porch. The pet was euthanized that day.

Zarate says the workers came to the trailer park to catch dogs that were left behind by previous residents. PETA says they mistook the Chihuahua for another pet.

A PETA official declined to comment to the newspaper Tuesday.

Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.