Dog News

Grieving Mom Faces Eviction for Keeping Late 9-Year-Old Son’s Dog

by Amy Drew

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Monique James, daughter Leila, age 17, and King. Photo: Shawn Inglima for NY Daily News --------------------------------------
Monique James, daughter Leila, age 17, and King. Photo: Shawn Inglima for NY Daily News
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Monique James, 40, lost her 9-year-old son, Jelani, to brain cancer on March 22. Now she is at risk of losing her son’s beloved dog, King, as well – or else face eviction from her Brooklyn apartment.

King was the light of her terminally ill son’s life. Since his passing, the dog has not left her side.
James filed a lawsuit this week in Brooklyn Federal Court to stop the eviction proceedings.

“I can’t get rid of the dog. The dog is a part of my family,” James told the Daily News. “It’s my son’s dog and I feel like when I’m with the dog, I’m with him in a sense.”

James, a hospital administrator, has lived in the apartment since 2011. King became a part of their family in 2015; a gift meant to provide Jelani – then bedridden – with companionship and comfort, to reduce his depression and anxiety.

James told the Daily News that King and Jelani were “un-detachable.”

“It was just them two, 24 hours a day. The dog was in bed with him.”

James hopes the matter can be resolved in court, and that King will be permitted to stay in the dog-free building.