DOGHOUSE LAWYER : DEATH ROW CANINES FIND A CHAMPION.

Byline: Sherry Joe Crosby Daily News Staff Writer

They all are accused of vicious crimes: maulings, bites and unprovoked attacks.

But their attorney believes that these charged criminals deserve a good lawyer - and a dog biscuit.

Encino attorney Michael Rotsten said he is the only attorney in California who specializes in representing the owners of dogs sentenced to die because of their aggressive behavior toward humans.

``I'm on a mission, and the mission makes me feel good about what I'm doing,'' said Rotsten, who sometimes uses character witnesses and animal psychiatrists to appeal his clients' death sentences.

The former criminal lawyer represents pet owners in a variety of cases.

He said he has won settlements as large as $30,000 on behalf of his clients and successfully pursued dozens of malpractice suits against veterinarians who have botched flea treatments, neutering operations and misdiagnosed life-threatening illnesses.

For animal lovers and their pets, the 54-year-old attorney is a dog's best friend.

``He's got a big heart for animals,'' said Hernan Udaeta of Simi Valley, whose 1-year-old Rottweiler mix was run over by two Simi Valley police cruisers in November. ``Michael is a great guy. He's my sword and shield.''

For others, the crusading pet lawyer is a public nuisance who frees dangerous dogs who are only a nip away from seriously or fatally injuring someone.

Destroying such a dog ``is the absolute way to make sure it doesn't happen again,'' said Chris Day, attorney for a Yorba Linda family whose 7-year-old son, Zachary Anderson, was mauled in December 1995 by a bull mastiff. The dog escaped death thanks to Rotsten.

The boy needed 70 stitches and staples to close scalp lacerations and is still suffering from the trauma of the event, Day said.

``It's been terrible for them,'' he said. ``The psychological scars remain, but the physical scars have healed. (Zachary) is frightened to death of large dogs. He has nightmares.''

Rotsten handles about 60 animal cases a year, representing pet owners whose dogs have bitten or mauled their victims, died at the hands of vets or who are fighting pet restrictions in apartments and condominium complexes.

Of eight cases involving vicious dogs facing death, he has lost only one - a Staffordshire terrier mix that bit 15 people, including a 90-year-old woman, before it was destroyed. He has three more cases pending, including the one in Simi Valley.

``My favorite thing is dangerous dog cases,'' Rotsten said. ``The government is going against some dog owner and wants to kill the dog. Everything deserves to be alive, even a dog who bites someone.''

Since he began taking animal cases in 1992, Rotsten has won $30,000 from a security company whose officers shot and killed a German shepherd that lived in a Laurel Canyon home they were patrolling, and $15,000 for a cat that died after a veterinarian gave it a flea treatment designed for cows.

``I've always loved animals,'' said Rotsten, who owns three cats and grew up with a menagerie that included a desert tortoise, parakeets, guppies, dogs and cats. ``As a kid, I wanted to be a veterinarian.''

Now Rotsten helps animals by representing their owners in court, using letters of reference to substantiate an accused killer's good behavior. For those who can pay, he will use an animal psychiatrist to determine why a dog may have attacked someone.

``The psychiatrist spends two to four hours with the dog, interviews the owners and looks at the paperwork on the case and tries to help figure out what's going on in the dog's brain,'' Rotsten said.

In Simi Valley, he is representing Udaeta, whose five mixed Rottweilers escaped through a hole in their backyard fence Nov. 25. Four were safely captured, but the fifth, a young, spirited canine named Little Boxie, was crushed underneath the wheels of two Simi Valley police cruisers.

Udaeta, a 29-year-old pharmacist technician, maintains that his animals attacked no one and that the officers acted recklessly by running over the dog.

Simi Valley police tell a different story.

``The dogs were growling and threatening the officers when they got out of their cars,'' Sgt. Bob Gardner said. ``The officers sprayed them with pepper spray. But they were still being threatening.''

Finally, the officers used their cars to intercept Little Boxie, who was running toward two adults holding a small child, he said. The dog died from the impact.

Rotsten also represents Acton resident Emma Harter, a 65-year-old retired school cafeteria manager who was convicted in December 1995 of operating a kennel without a license for about 40 Chihuahuas that shared her home.

She received a suspended sentence of up to 180 days in jail, was placed on probation for three years and ordered to build a kennel and to work 16 days of community service. In July, animal control officers removed all but three of the dogs from her home.

Now Harter is appealing her conviction and is looking forward to a court date later this month.

``I am confident (Rotsten) can get my dogs back for me, because he knows his job and he has a lot of feelings for the dogs,'' Harter said.

Neighbors, however, view the return of the barking dogs with trepidation.

``It's been great since they've been gone,'' said Donna Watson, who lives next door to the yapping Chihuahuas. ``They were loud. They were annoying. I would get woken up four or five nights a week.''

Rotsten said he is not trying to unleash annoying or dangerous dogs onto the public, but only trying to save worthwhile lives.

``It's like buying a spot in dog heaven,'' he said.

CAPTION(S):

Photo

PHOTO (color) Encino attorney Michael Rotsten gets attention from Hernan Udaeta's Rottweiler mix Atlas.

John Lazar/Special to the Daily News