El Paso Man Sues, Alleges Border Patrol Killed Dog
Senior Counsel Marisa Ong was featured in KTSM's article "El Paso man sues, alleges Border Patrol killed dog," covering the firm's federal lawsuit on behalf of Seth Daw, whose 7-year-old dog, Chop, was allegedly shot and killed by a U.S. Border Patrol agent inside his El Paso home in September 2025.
The lawsuit, filed under the Federal Tort Claims Act in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, El Paso Division, follows an administrative claim Daw filed with U.S. Customs and Border Protection in October 2025, which the agency denied in its entirety in May 2026. According to the complaint, Daw had secured Chop in an entryway bathroom before agents searched his home and asked to be notified before that door was opened. While Daw was outside, an agent allegedly reentered the home alone and shot Chop, who died despite Daw's efforts to save him. The complaint raises claims for assault and battery, conversion and trespass to personal property, trespass to real property, and negligence.
"Seth did everything he was supposed to do, and an agent still went into a room he had no permission to enter and killed a healthy, harmless animal who had never hurt anyone," said Ong. "Seth hasn't spent a single night in the home he was renovating and planning to buy since the day his dog was killed there."
