CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL – EXISTING LITIGATION
Paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 54956.9
Name of case: Tobias Kunze and Liliana Kunze Briseno v. City of Menlo Park (Case No. 3- CIV00590)

Dear Council Members,

I am a resident and home owner in Menlo Park. I live with my wife and two daughters a few blocks away from the Kunzes. We also have a dog.

I only know the Kunzes as my daughters and wife have repeatedly exclaimed how wonderful their dog is. My daughters ages 11 and 8 when they first met the Kunzes dog Baar have for the last few years been crazy about the beautiful and charming dog. Their dog has a sweet and shy disposition and is a danger to no one in my opinion. Clearest example of this - my tiny eight year old daughter would give their dog hugs in the dog park while surrounded by other dogs including our own.

I have only gotten to know the Kunzes because of their mistreatment at the hands of our local bureaucracy. They have been through a bit of all consuming hell trying to redeem the reputation of their dog that interacted with another dog on the street. The dog to dog interaction is not a big deal. It’s normal.

The handling of this matter by the other family involved has a few problems. The other dog actually has a bad reputation in the neighborhood and that it was being walked by a child care person that is not the dogs owner while they were also walking an infant in a stroller are no doubt contributing factors. I would not wish for either dog to be declared dangerous - but if I were to put blame on a dog it would not be on the Kunzes dog. If I were to put blame on dog owners it would not be on the Kunzes.

The real shame is that our city immediately supports the individual claiming harm and then tramples others rights and freedoms in its use of its considerable power.

The Kunze have lost countless hours in fighting something that is almost impossible to fight. They have spent dollars (likely needed for their own children’s education) to have their rights recognized and help all of us come to understand the somewhat arbitrary nature of how judgement is passed on a dog in our neighborhood.

My understanding is that they are only asking for legal fees and none of the hundreds of hours of their time or compensation for the trauma our city and the other family has put them through. I support that they receive this with thanks from the City for their helping this case set the precedent for Menlo Park as a rational city. We could use a few of these precedents.

My wife Katarzyna Kursa and daughters Isabella and Amelia all agree with this statement as well.

Best regards,

Peter Altman
2056 Menalto Ave
650-255-4532 cell