AURELIA, IA -
They were told they would have to give up their dog, simply because it was a pitbull mix. But, Snickers is no ordinary dog: not only is he Jim's best friend, he is also a service dog.
Jim Sak, a retired Chicago police officer, can't live without his dog, literally.
Jim became disabled after having a stroke 4 years ago, so they got Snickers trained to be a service dog. Last November, when they moved to Aurelia, they were told to get rid of him, because the town has a breed ban against pitbulls.
"Just because he looks like a pitbull, doesn't mean he's going to chew anybody up," Jim said.
And that's when the fight began, not only for Snickers but for Jim as well. He was diagnosed with throat cancer. Hope was fading fast.
A neighbor told us it all started because the community wanted to keep kids safe. Jim and Peggy wanted to make the neighborhood safe, so they put up an 8 foot high fence, they also keep Snickers on a leash at all times.
A judge in Sioux City eventually told them they could keep the dog, until the City of Aurelia came to an agreement with the Sak's lawyers. The big news came last week: Snickers can stay.
"The city had reached an agreement, and then on Tuesday, we found out Tuesday, that Jim's biopsy down in Omaha we had done a week before, were benign," Peggy said.
Finally, Jim's life is complete once again.
