This posting was formerly used for daily updates to and musings about Sidney's situation. Now that Sidney's own case is over it will no longer be used for updates, but it will continue to be used for Blogger's various musings about the larger issues that remain to be addressed, which was really the reason we stepped in in the first place. In particular, it will be used to answer the questions, Why did things go so terribly wrong in the DC government regarding this case and what can be done to prevent a recurrence of those things in the future? The DC government, acting in the name of the law and public health, committed, in my estimation, a serious breach of ethics, which caused grievous harm to individuals (on top of the suffering involved in the accident itself), wasted precious government resources, and brought adverse publicity on the city. Because I believe this, because of what I know, albeit as an outsider, and because it will happen again unless remedied, it would be wrong of me to turn my attention away from this now just because Sidney is back home. Granted, it appears that some of this breach was due to a bad law that the DoH is obligated to enforce, and probably does so correctly most of the time, but that is only part of it. Perhaps I know more than others; perhaps I do not know enough. Whatever the truth, this blog will continue until I am satisfied that I have done all I can do to inform those who can close those gaps or become enlightened myself.
My strong sense, after seeing the overwhelming response from compassionate people everywhere, is that most people agreed that there was something wrong going on here. But I am not too sure those in authority understand this.
PUZZLING FACTS OR QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS CASE THAT STILL NEED TO BE EXPLAINED
Why did Blogger, who did not know any of the people (or dogs) connected with this case, spend so much time on this? What did he know that others do not?
More coming soon. Please standby.
Update as of Wednesday August 8th, 3:00 p.m.
1- There is nothing significant to report. Eric and Belinda are now in their 36th day of what we believe amounts to false imprisonment in DC as Sidney remains impounded while the DC government goes about business as usual. (Who in their right mind would leave their greyhound-pit bull mix dog in a pound that euthanizes pit bulls and pit bull-mixes every day as a matter of policy?) Therefore, if you have not sent the Mayor an e-mail or fax today along the lines of appendix (8), please consider doing so now, and ask your friends to do so too. The mayor campaigned that he would be open to involvement of citizens and new ideas in his administration, and here's his chance to prove it. Thank you.
Incidentally, despite your many messages to the mayor and others, from our vantage point and from what we have learned and confirmed from some we see no reason to have any optimism about the outcome of Sidney's case. Except perhaps for Judge Goode's perceptive realizing what was going on, there is no indication to us that the city government knows how to handle matters of this sort. If there is an adverse ruling in Sidney's case, an appeal could take a year or more, and Sidney would languish in the pound all that time just as he is now. Of course, this raises two questions many commenters have asked: Why is this terrible waste of resources going on when Sidney was leaving DC anyway? and Why didn't the issues of provocation (e.g., sudden invasion of space, etc.) and what the scene looked like from Sidney's standpoint come out at his expensive trial? Since the fundamental purpose of this blog is to free Sidney, it would serve no purpose answering them here now, but the answers to those questions became evident to us from the beginning, and they will be answered, whether Sidney is acquited or put down.
2- Several people have written to us that they have contacted Oprah (who, we understand, loves pit bulls) about putting Sidney's plight on her show. They suggested that others might do the same. For the specific page to submit your idea click here. Or you can go to Oprah's home page at oprah.com, then go to "Be on The Show" and then "Your Idea for a Show" buttons. Be sure to state, however, that this matter is not about Sidney alone, but about all dogs wrongly caught in the Dangerous Dog Act and, more important, weak links in our process of government in general.
Previous updates that we are leaving up for the time being
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Update as of Tuesday, August 7th, 4:00 a.m.
1- Unfortunately, we have no changes from last evening's report to report at this time.
2- Please send Mayor Fenty one last plea for him to take charge of Sidney's fate. A suggested letter to the mayor with his contact information is shown in appendix (8) at the very bottom of this blog (or click here). The letter lays out very vividly why DC's pressing this case is wrong. If you wish, send copies of the letter to others mentioned in the main blog.
3- We added the names of three more contacts for this matter in the main ("Save Sidney") posting below to include Lisa LaFontaine (who has a pit bull dog herself), who will take over as head of the Washington Humane Society in October; The Humane Society of the United States, which has published the Model Dangerous Dog Act that has been unevenly enacted or unfairly administered in a number of jurisdictions; and the Honorable Charles J. Willoughby, the DC Inspector General, who is responsible for investigating fraud waste and abuse in the DC Government (at a minimum, this is a terrible case of waste of precious DC resources, when it could have been settled in one day had there not been political intervention to press for Sidney's death).
Update as of Monday, August 6th, 6:30 p.m.
1- Unfortunately, we have no changes to the previous report to report at this time. But thanks to all who have sent letters to the Mayor and other government officials. Let us rephrase that. Thanks to all the compassionate, thinking and understanding people from around the globe who have sent letters and messages. (Please keep them coming.) Let's hope they have some impact on convincing the government of the US capital city to do what is right. That is why we are here, and that "we" includes you. If Sidney is freed, we are all freed.
2- Channel 7 in DC had a piece on Sidney's situation on the 5:00 news tonight (Monday). But please keep in mind that the real report was not about Sidney alone, but the strong jaws of the Dangerous Dogs Acts here and all across the country that are trapping good dogs. Sidney is not the only good dog that got caught in those jaws. By the way, we just read a piece on the Internet that the sponsor of the strict Dangerous Dog Act in New Mexico was just bitten by a dog himself, his own dog. (Read that story here.) We also read another piece that a man entering a house was viciously attacked by a pack of dogs, all Chihuahuas. Does anyone else see what we are getting at with the blog?
3- Those of you who are both lawyers and dog behaviorists in this country and know the facts in this case will appreciate this: The Model Dangerous Dog Act (see appendix 1) provides for a number of exceptions in naming a dog a dangerous dog (as the District petitioned to do with Sidney) and subject him/her to the strict --- if not fatal --- consequences of the Act. One very interesting exception is this: "§ 4. No dog shall be declared a dangerous or potentially dangerous dog if (c) The dog was: (2) Protecting or defending a human being within the immediate vicinity of the dog from an attack or assault." Now do you know why we started this blog? Again, you must be a lawyer and animal behaviorist to understand the full implications of that to the present case, but if you are neither of those, then being a compassionate, thinking person will be sufficient. In either case, take that "exception" and go read the facts in the case in he main posting, and when you do, put yourself in Sidney's shoes, we mean paws.
4- After Sidney's case is long over with, however it ends, we animal advocates have some work cut out for us in DC. We suspect have a problem here and it is not (only) with dangerous dogs we are afraid.
5- What is puzzling to us is this. Under the Dangerous Dog Acts sweeping the US, dogs are treated like humans when they are victims, but they are treated like trash when they are the perpetrators of bites of other dogs and subject to being euthanized (killed). But perpetrators of animal cruelty against, say, many pitbulls</font>, will get at the most six years in jail if they are convicted, while Sidney stands to get death, simply for being a pitbull</font> and defending his handler and space. Does anyone else see the unfairness in all of this? We think so.
Update as of Friday, August 3rd, 10:00 p.m.
Unfortunately, despite the administrative judge's orders, from all that we have been able to learn, there has been absolutely no final resolution of Sidney's case, and he still sits in the pound on New York Avenue awaiting his fate. Also from what we understand, Sidney's guardians had to return to New York for the weekend and leave him behind in DC. We have no idea what deadline the judge gave the parties and so we have no sense of when this phase of Sidney's saga must end before the judge makes his own decision. So it seems to us, folks, that a polite letter to Mayor Fenty</font> might still be in order, asking him to please encourage his Department of Health officials responsible for this matter to bring this saga to an end immediately in a compassionate, fair way that accurately reflects the facts, the law, precedent and procedure. The mayor's contact information is:
DC Mayor Adrian M. Fenty</font>: Contact Information Fax: 202-727-0505; Call Center Phone: 727-1000; E-mail: adrian.fenty@dc.gov.
From all we have learned about how government works, the more letters on the mayor's desk on Monday morning, the better. For Sidney, thanks.
While we have no information to report here about Sidney, we do want to report one thing of interest that we did learn today. You will be amazed at what we have to tell you. While Sidney's guardians, Belinda and Eric, were en route to the pound yesterday to visit Sidney, as they were driving on Eastern Avenue in NE Washington, they saw a mid-sized dog wandering in and out of the traffic, limping. Although there were a lot of people and cars in the area, no one was making an attempt to stop and help the poor dog. So Eric and Belinda, delaying their trip to see their own dog in the pound, stopped their car and started after the dog, a pitbull</font> mix (do you believe that?). The dog bolted and ran some distance from them, and then climbed the steps of a church, turned around and just sat there waiting for them. The dog, a 17-month-old female, was bleeding after having been hit by car. Despite her injury, the dog let them approach her, and so they put Sidney's leash on her to lead her to safety and to see if they could find her owner. They were reluctant to take her to animal control with them unless they were able to contact the owner first because, as most of you know by now, unclaimed pitbulls</font> or pitbull</font> mixes never make it out of the DC pound alive. Fortunately, the dog, whose name was Cleo, did have a collar and tag on and just before they got to the pound they were able to contact the owner who was thrilled to hear from them. As good luck would have it, a vet just happened to be at the pound and he carefully checked Cleo and gave her the first aid she needed. We believe the owner has since picked her up from the pound. But, amazingly, Cleo's owner said that the person who hit her called him and demanded that he pay for the damage to her bumper from when she hit Cleo. Apparently, after the woman hit Cleo, she stopped long enough only to get the owner's information from Cleo's tags to collect the damage for her bumper and did nothing to help Cleo or help her find her owner. Unbelievable. This is a story we could not have made up. We pass it on to you without further comment except to say, What a lucky dog Cleo was that Sidney was in the pound.
Again, we wish to stress that this blog is run by individuals not connected with the case or with any of the parties or dogs in it. We are simply DC residents concerned about the underlying issues with the incident itself and the aftermath, all of which are sure to affect all of us in the future.
As we learn significant information on Sidney's fate, we will report it here as soon as we learn it, but we expect nothing before Monday. If any reader learns something before we do, we would appreciate a comment telling us about it. In the meantime, please consider a polite letter to the mayor. He needs to know people care about this matter.
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