Sidney is Free - Thank You, World

At 7:24 p.m. on August 8th, Sidney, unshackled from his allegorical paw-cuffs and thinner than he was before, along with Eric, Belinda and Ruby, jumped into their old white car at the New York Avenue Animal Shelter, and began their 5-hour trip back home to Brooklyn, New York. Sidney is now free, or as free as a dog can be. And he is free only because of his indefatigable guardians, Eric and Belinda, his capable animal lawyer, Sean Day, Channel 7 and The Washington Post, and the hundreds --- maybe thousands --- of people from around the world who sent messages of support to blogs, the media and officials in the DC government.

But thanks also must go to Judge Jesse P. Goode, who, by ordering the Department of Health to go back to working this matter out as they should have before it got to him, saw precisely what was going on; to Google (you guys deserve every penny you earn, and your stock options too); and, of course, to Oprah.

(Oprah? Why Oprah? She didn't do anything, did she? Well, you be the judge. Six hours after the "mayor" acknowledged in writing that he would follow Sidney's troubles and wished us well with our letters to Oprah, Sidney was freed, despite the Department of Health's refusal earlier in the day to continue discussions with Sidney's guardians --- as the judge had ordered --- and decision to defer to the judge's decision.)

As Sidney's car started to pull out of the animal control center, Belinda leaned out of the car and said to me, "I wish we could take all the pit bulls in there with us." I turned to her and said, "You are, in your heart and in the legacy Sidney will leave behind."

Five photos of Sidney's release from the pound and his last moments in DC forever are shown in the next posting. DC's Channel 7 (shown in photo 1) ran a piece several hours after Sidney's first taste of freedom in 36 days and last look at DC, which he had to agree to in order to get his freedom. (Of course, the DC government had to get something in order to justify the egregious waste of precious taxpayer resources that were spent on this case, and Sidney, as a dog, was only too happy to oblige. But since the agreement was nothing more than what Eric and Belinda were more than willing to sign on July 5th, this does raise the question, What the heck was going on here?)

Since we had never met Eric, Belinda or Sidney before, we were struck by two things when we got our first glimpse of Sidney last night. What a handsome dog he is. We fell in love with the guy the first moment we set eyes on him. But also, we were struck by what a wimp the guy is. We were expecting, well, as The Washington Post called him, a "bruiser." If the city councilman who pressed for Sidney's incarceration and death was going to use him as his poster dog for banning pit bulls from the city, he would have been the laughing stock of the whole city.

On a serious note, all of us in DC and perhaps in the United States owe Sidney a huge debt of gratitude. In DC, he unearthed some serious flaws in our process of government, flaws that need to be addressed very soon, and that's where this Blogger --- and others --- will now turn. Sidney's --- and his guardians' --- departure from the city should have taken place 35 days ago, and that's the precise measure of the flaws that need repair. Beyond that, Sidney also unearthed some very serious flaws in the Dangerous Dog Acts sweeping the country, where good, innocent dogs are getting caught in the strong jaws of those Acts simply because of complaints that should have been resolved long before they wasted precious government resources, drained the emotions and resources of responsible owners, and condemned otherwise innocent dogs to lives behind bars (or muzzles) or death. I have already communicated my strong concerns to the Humane Society of the United States, which has drafted a Model Dangerous Dog Act that needs critical reworking it. There is no question but that dog bites are a terrible thing, no matter who is the victim. There is also no question but that dangerous dogs can be a problem. But as long as dog owners will be careless, our authorities need to be able to recognize accidents from problems, and even then it is not the dogs that we need to be targeting primarily, but irresponsible --- especially chronically irresponsible --- owners and the social problems that give rise to the irresponsibility in the first place. Fortunately, there are good people working very hard at finding appropriate solutions, and animals everywhere are benefiting.

Again, this Blogger --- for Sidney --- wants to thank the numerous people from around the world who responded to our pleas, especially the many people with whom we communicated directly by phone, e-mail or on the street. You all know who you are. Also, we want to thank the lawyers, animal advocates, philosophers and plain old dog lovers who helped us with this blog. But it wasn't our blog or Sidney's; it was every dog's and dog lover's blog.

One final comment. My final words to Eric and Belinda as they pulled out of the animal control center were really for Sidney. I simply said, "On behalf of all of us in Washington, I apologize for the way you were treated by our authorities simply for being a dog." (I should have said, ". . . simply for being a pit bull mix.") Then, in my unofficial capacity as nothing in particular, I pardoned him.

Thank you, World. Thank you, Eric and Belinda, for letting us interpose ourselves in this matter. And thank you, Sidney.

P.S.

If you wish to leave Sidney good wishes for his life back in Brooklyn, please post a comment to this posting and I will get it to him. If you wish for it to remain private, say that and I will respect that.

Also, Eric and Belinda have asked that everyone who sent their support for Sidney, to please consider donating whatever you can to your local animal shelter. And please ask them to behavior test every dog for adoptability, even the pit bulls.

You might wish to send a letter to DC Mayor Fenty thanking him for his role in Sidney's release, but asking him to make sure that he puts in place the proper precautions to make sure what happened to Sidney does not happen again. A suggested letter is shown in Appendix (8).

Eric and Belinda asked if they could post a letter here to Washingtonians after they get back home, and I agreed. It will appear in the next posting.

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"Please keep your dogs on 6-foot leashes and under control at all times; and your governments too."

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This Blog has officially ended. However, it will remain here as a reminder that things are not always what they appear to be on the surface and that our government officials are accountable to the people. Individuals postings may change from time to time to correct (or add) any (new) material facts and opinions and conclusions of this blogger. Appropriate, intelligent comments will be welcome also, but moderated by Blogger, of course.

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No animals were harmed or killed in the making of this blog.

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"My life is full of meaning to me. The life of every living creature must be full of significance to itself." Albert Schweitzer

"Evil happens when good people do nothing." Edmund Burke

"Good happens when evil people do nothing." Blogger

"The way to change the world is not by passing more laws and regulations that malevolent people can use for their own purposes, but by educating and informing people. People want to do what is right." Blogger

"The way you save the world is by saving one living creature at a time." Blogger

"There is nothing more satisfying in life than lending to a voiceless creature your own voice (or hand), especially when someone is trying to harm that creature." Blogger

"Things are never what they appear to be a first, especially in the fog of war." Common Sense

"The only one who really knows what is going on in the mind of a dog, is a dog." Anon.

"When two gorillas get ready to fight, they throw dust at each other." Robert A.G.Monks, consumate shareholder activist.

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This Blog is dedicated to Duke, Maximus, and Shana, and to all abused and homeless animals everywhere, and that includes pit bulls.