Hello everyone,
I am posting this article in full and a friends' comment on it, as well as contact information for the legal department in charge of this case. This is only one case, but will spread to the rest of us pet-owners and animal-lovers eventually. I remember a time when a dog was given a medal for doing what this one did. The real victim is the family, not the moron who got himself attacked by not listening to the owner, grabbing the man's wife, and beating the dog's puppies with a rake. Please contact these fools and help me try to get them to reverse this verdict. Thank you.
--Jenn Bellew, Dragon Sanctuary Reptile Rescue Founder and President.
Judge orders shepherd destroyed after vicious attack Thursday, November 08,
2007
BY LINDA STEIN PRINCETON TOWNSHIP -- A family whose beloved German shepherd
faces death for having led a dog attack on a landscaper is devastated by the
news but vows to continue to fight to save him.
"He needs to come home," said Guy James, the Princeton homeowner who managed
to call his dogs off the landscaper, but only after the worker was severely
mauled in the June 5 attack.
"He's innocent. He did nothing more than protect my wife. He never bit anyone
until she was grabbed and pulled to the ground," James said.
Congo has been ruled vicious by a municipal judge and ordered put down.
"As a family, it's destroyed our way of living," said James, 46. "We're just
consumed with the whole thing."
The landscaper, Giovanni Rivera, has won a $250,000 insurance settlement as a
result of serious injuries he sustained in the attack, which occurred when he
and others disobeyed instructions from James not to get out of th
eir car until Congo and several other dogs on the property could be
sequestered for safety.
Rivera, a Trenton man, was on the 10-acre, fenced property on Stuart Road to
do yard work. The landscaping crew had arrived before 7 a.m., about an hour
before they were expected.
James, who was about to take a shower, called out a window to them in
Spanish, telling them to get back in their car and wait because the dogs were in the
backyard being fed.
While the dogs, two 2 1/2-year-old German shepherds and their four
6-month-old puppies, had not had problems with people on the property before, James said
in an interview that he didn't want them to interfere with the wo
rkers. Also, he wanted the workers to wait until he was dressed so that he
could
tell them what to do, he said.
Instead, Rivera and another worker got out of the car after a few minutes and
the
dogs began to bark. That worker began to hit the dogs with a metal rake and
Elizabeth James, Guy James' wife, yelled for him to stop. Meanwhile, Rivera,
who
was afraid of the dogs, grabbed her from behind and pulled her to the ground,
causing her to scream. At that point Congo began to bite and scratch Rivera
and
some of the puppies joined in.
"The whole thing was pretty terrifying," Elizabeth James said. "You can't
imagine. I was scared. It happened extremely fast. I didn't have time to think."
Meanwhile, her 8-year-old son, Ben, ran into the house to get his father.
Moments later, Guy James hurried out and called off the dogs.
Rivera, who was treated for bites at a local hospital, settled with the
couple's insurance carrier for the $250,000, Guy James said.
Rivera's lawyer, Kevin Riechelson, said his client has scars from the dog
bites and scratches that may be permanent on his arms, legs and torso. Rivera
still suffers from numbness in his leg but is able to walk.
"He had a really deep wound on his right thigh," Riechelson said. "Luckily,
his face wasn't touched."
In addition to the $250,000 settlement, the Jameses' insurer agreed to pay
medical bills and worker's compensation claims for Rivera, Riechelson said.
The Jameses' children, especially Ben who witnessed the attack, have been
"crying nonstop," Elizabeth James said. "They've been on an emotional
rollercoaster. " Their dog has been placed in a shelter while the court proces
s plays out.
Hannah James, 11, wrote a letter to Judge Russell Annich Jr. saying in part,
"I am so upset seeing my dog locked up in jail for doing his job. When my
friends are over they play with and around Congo and have no problems.
I want you to know that this is coming from my heart and I mean it with all
my heart and soul. Actually, my broken heart. We will never ever forget this
for the rest of our lives. You have made the wrong decision in my e
yes."
And Congo, who is being held at Save a Friend of Homeless Animals, is
depressed and anxious, Guy James said. He now has to be hand-fed or he will
not
eat.
Meanwhile, James' lawyer, Robert Lytle, argued at a hearing in Municipal
Court
that the attack had been provoked and under New Jersey law, the dogs had a
right
to protect themselves and their owner.
But some, including municipal prosecutor Kim Otis, argue that the Jameses
should have had control over the dogs and were negligent.
Indeed, Judge Annich found that "the prevailing circumstances did not
constitute provocation and that the attack upon Mr. Rivera, initiated by Congo and
subsequently by the other dogs present, continuing unabated for thre
e minutes, was a response grossly disproportionate to the prevailing
situation."
Guy James pointed to testimony from dog behavior expert and University of
Pennsylvania professor Ilana Reisner, who said that in her professional opinion
James' dogs were "clearly provoked."
"Based on these threats (unfamiliar individuals, perceived threatening
position, the attack on the puppies with a metal rake, grabbing the owner from
behind and pulling to the ground) the dogs were compelled to defend the
mselves and their owner," Reisner wrote.
"I am so sorry for what happened but it was not out of viciousness, " Guy
James said. "This was a provoked attack and any dog would protect its owner in the
same manner. I can't imagine that any dog -- who was beat with a
rake, hard enough to cause bloody gashes, and then had its owner grabbed from
behind -- would walk away without action."
Guy James also garnered statements from several people who had been on his
property and attested to the dogs' friendly behavior, including John Pettenati,
the township building inspector. In fact Pettenati nicknamed them
"the happy dogs" because they were so pleasant.
Guy James said that while he and his family were waiting for their house to
be finished they lived for several months at a hotel. During that time Congo
and his mate, Lucia, interacted with maids and others and never caus
ed a problem, he said.
James also sent Congo and Lucia to the American Dog School in Denver for
obedience training. James stressed that the dogs were trained for obedience, not
as guard dogs. The four puppies are currently at that school, he sa
id. Five of their siblings were adopted and one of those dogs is being
trained to be a police dog in Pennsylvania, Guy James said.
Meanwhile, an article in The Times and reports in other media outlets have
spurred the public into action on Congo's behalf.
Kat McAfee of the Coalition for Action in the Interests of Animals has
organized the Coalition to Free Congo. She expects hundreds to come to a rally
Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the municipal building at 400 Witherspoon St. in
Princeton.
McAfee said they hope to save Congo's life by "bringing pressure on the
powers that be."
Annich is expected to place his ruling on the record Tuesday afternoon.
For his part, Guy James said he has received thousands of letters and e-mails
and thanked those who have offered their support.
"Congo is a fantastic family pet who is loved by everyone we know and many we
don't," James said. "We will not let this rest for the sake of all dogs and
their
owners, and most of all, our family and Congo."
Guy James plans to appeal Annich's ruling to Superior Court.
"We will fight with all our love and support from friends and strangers until
he is
back with us," he said.
http://www.nj. com/news/ times/index. ssf?/base/ news-
3/1194498519125940. xml&coll= 5
CONTACT INFORMATION:
COMMENT FROM TIM:
Just out of curiosity, where are the criminal charges against Giovanni Rivera? I'm not a lawyer, nor intimately familiar with New Jersey law, but from where I sit he's guilty of...
1). Criminal Trespassing: He was told not to enter the property and remain in the car. He failed to do so ergo he was trespassing on the property at the time.
2). Petty vandalism: Causing minor physical harm to come to the "livestock" (dogs) by beating on them with a rake.
3). Assault and battery: He pulled the lady of the house down to the ground. Since this was done during the commission of a crime (Trespassing) it would typically be elevated to Felony Assault.
and possibly
4). Insurance Fraud: He likely didn't report he was trespassing on the property when he was injured.... oops.
Apart from these criminal charges he would also potentially be civilly responsible for 1). Destruction of private property (hitting the dogs with a rake). 2). Punative damages for assault (against the lady of the house). 3). intentional infliction of emotional distress (against the children). and potentially 4). increased insurance costs.
One has to wonder how a person can legitimately trespass on one's property, beat one's dogs, assault one's wife, psychologically disturb one's children, and then not only collect an insurance settlement likely far exceeding the legitimate costs of his injury, but also hold the dogs and owners criminally responsible for his own criminal act! Makes people go "hmmmm"... doesn't it?
Tim Fuller,
President, NEOPOA
*Note from Jenn*
Although writing to this court probably won't get the judge to reverse the ruling, the family will be supoena-ing and presenting these emails to the superior court. They will be offical, public documentation and could make all the difference in the world to this dog's life and to his family. I will post my e-mailed statement as soon as I finish composing it. Thank you all, and Nameste.
