Zeke was seized in June last year
A Nottinghamshire man has gone to court to try to stop a council putting down the pet he alleges was wrongly seized under dangerous dogs legislation.
Jason Singh of Greenacre, Edwalton, said his dog Zeke is not a banned pit bull terrier, but a cross with a Dogue de Bordeaux, a type of French mastiff.
A Rushcliffe Borough Council dog warden saw Zeke being walked in the street and he was later seized in June 2007.
Nottingham Magistrates' court will decide what happens to the animal.
Mr Singh told reporters: "It's been a nightmare. He was a good dog.
"We've never had any problems with him and for him to be taken like that for so long and not to be able to see him, it's really horrible."
He is being supported by the Fury Defence Fund, a group which supports dog owners in legal cases.
Two dog experts have been called in by Mr Singh.
One, Dr Roger Mugford, has helped to defend Princess Anne in a court case concerning her pet dog.
Barry Peachey, an expert called by the council, said Zeke was a pitbull terrier, the red-nosed variety common to the East Midlands.
However, one of Mr Singh's experts, John Branch, told the court Zeke was a French mastiff cross and the only red-nosed variety he knew of "was Rudolph".
The case continues.