Joe Curtis says he has gone by the letter of the law but he still hasn’t gotten his dog back many months later, causing him to lose faith in the system.“I know this is an election year,” Curtis said after Judge Bill Locke recused himself from the lawsuit he has filed against Clay and Tammy Lerch for the return of his 10-year-old boxer named Brutus. “But, at the very least he should have held them in contempt for not bringing the dog to court like they were told to do twice.”Curtis was referring to a court order for the pair of animal rights advocates demanding they bring the dog back to Warren County. They did not return the dog during the Wednesday hearing and were not held in contempt.