DENVER -- Two years after the city of Denver fought its most recent legal battle on its pit bull ban, it is being challenged with a class action lawsuit.

Three pit bull owners who moved out of Denver so they could keep their dogs filed the lawsuit against the city last Friday in Denver federal court alleging that the ban violates 14th Amendment rights to liberty and property and to due process of law.

In May 2005, Denver began confiscating dogs deemed to be banned under its pit bull ordinance following a battle between the city and the state.

The Denver Animal Control told 7NEWS that in the last two years, more than 1,400 pit bulls have been euthanized.

"It affected my business, it affected my life," said plaintiff Sonya Dias. "I felt like a fugitive."

Dias and her pit bull Gryffindor moved out of Denver after the city implemented its ban. At first, Dias said she hid her dog to keep him from being confiscated and euthanized.

"If some random animal control officer decides your dog looks enough like a pit bull to kill, all they have to do is kill it," said attorney David Lane.

"To try to exterminate every pit bull in the city because there's a remote risk of something bad happening," Karen Breslin said.

Those behind the suit to end the ban do acknowledge the many documented pit bull attacks.

"German Shepards, Huskey, Mallamutes and Rottweilers, and the list goes on and on and on. That's the thing. It's not specifically about breed," Breslin said.

"It's our contention that it's a bad pet owner problem. It's not a bad dog problem," Lane said.

Dias said it's inappropriate for governments to consider pets just as property.

"He's my family. I'm not just going to give him away or let the city of Denver kill him," she said.

The argument that pets are not just property is going to be a key point in the case.

Denver's city attorney reminded that the ban has been challenged many times in the past and has been successfully defended each time. She said the ordinance is constitutional and will stand.