I’m deviating slightly in the format of my follow-up Friday post. Normally I start with earlier posts and work my way forward, today I am starting with yesterday’s post, “Has The World Gone Crazy?”
First I have to apologize to you, I saw the article on facebook and read a blog, which got me fired up and I wrote my blog post. What I didn’t do was my research. I should have looked to see if there was more to the story and unfortunately there was.
My dear friend at 2 Brown Dawgs who lives in Michigan and apparently not too far from Royal Oaks, found the following two articles. Feel free to read them yourself and make your own conclusions.
City of Royal Oak, The People vs Spalding
Here is a quick summary.
Apparently there were two dogs being walked by the girlfriend of the owner’s son. While they were outside a store a man approached and asked if they were friendly and the girl responded they were. As the man walked past the dogs (according to the police report) the dogs jumped on the man and bit his face. The man was assisted by store employees and then went to the hospital. He had bite marks on his nose and below his mouth. His wounds required stitches and at least one surgery.
The owner was cited for the dog bite and for not having either of her dogs licensed. The petition leads one to believe the dog will be euthanized on February 9th, which is not the case at all. Heidi is currently at home with her owner and will reside there until a decision has been reached. The 9th is the date scheduled for the pre-trial hearing at which point a settlement could be reached.
City attorney Dave Gillam “disputes claims that Royal Oak is out to destroy the dog. He said the city did present two options: euthanize the dog or move her outside of Royal Oak. However, the issue could be resolved by sending the dog to obedience school, muzzling her whenever she is outside the owner’s McLean Avenue home, or some other action.”
The dog is not in danger of being euthanized next week as the petition suggests.
First I’m mad at myself for not looking into the case. Usually I am the first to research something I hear.
Second I am really pissed off that the owner is manipulating the situation and making it seem like the city is out to destroy her dog. She is preying on the emotion of dog owners everywhere, IMO she needs to take responsibility for herself and her dog. The dog bit someone, really bit someone, she should not be classifying it as “Heidi popped up at the same time that the stranger bent over to pet her.” According to the reports the stranger wasn’t even trying to pet the dog.
I certainly don’t want the dog to be destroyed, but I’m thinking perhaps the dog needs to be re-homed. IMO this is not a responsible dog owner. She didn’t look out for her dog and she didn’t own her responsibility.
A visit to her website today has HUGE red letters across the top, “PLEASE DO NOT CALL OR EMAIL THE CITY OF ROYAL OAK. THINGS ARE PROGRESSING WELL. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT.”
I’m still thinking I may send the city an e-mail and let them know I felt deceived by Ms. Spalding and while I don’t believe Heidi should be destroyed, I think she may need re-homing.
Please accept my sincerest apologies for misleading you in this cause, I promise to check facts next time I hear something that infuriates me and educate myself before going off half-cocked.
Death By Chocolate – Part 2 – Update
Delilah came away from her experience with a one time vomit, a tiny bit of diarrhea the next morning and a healthy fear of Mr. Honey Bear. (A lot better than most celebrities who take a handful of pills.) 🙂
Since I’m pretty sure she doesn’t know why Mr. Honey Bear came out, I’m pretty sure she will still eat stuff she shouldn’t, which just means I have to be more conscientious of what I leave lying around.
Drew Barrymore’s Bump – Update
My euphoria that Drew Barrymore adopted a shelter dog turned to dismay the next day, when I read that Prince William and Princess Kate adopted a Cocker Spaniel from a breeder. And don’t forget I am not against responsible breeders, just those crazy puppy mill people. When they see a demand for Cocker Spaniels they’ll start churning them out.
That’s it for me, I think I’ve done enough damage this week.
Book Update: My book has 8,457 words.
Don’t worry… we have all been guilty of Leaping before we Look. There are ALWAYS two sides to every story.
Nobody famous ever wants a Chessie. They are our own little secret. 🙂
Well I am glad to read that things may soon be resolved for Heidi. I suppose it could have been that Heidi’s owner did not understand what the city was asking of her…yeah I will go with that. 🙂
While all dogs can be unpredictable, Hiedi’s owner should be taking more responsibility than this situation seems to show. I think rehoming or mandated training classes with some time working at a shelter that actually euthanizes unlucky dogs might make her see this kind of issue is very serious and not something to be twisted for her benefit.
I think it does more harm when certain dog breeds are featured in movies and on tv then when celebs adopt them (unless it is en mass such as with the chihuahua phenomenon.)
It’s hard for all of us not to leap in when a dog is in danger. Often the newspapers only give the side of the heartbroken dog owner.
We’ve all jumped the gun at times when our emotions are involved, especially when it is about children or animals. Don’t worry, you have cleared it up now, thanks for letting us know the situation Jodi.
Reblogged this on bonesdiary and commented:
Please read this as a follow-up to the reblog I did yesterday. It shows how there are always two sides to every story; the dog owner is obviously unfit to keep dogs.
Don’t beat yourself up. It’s easy to want to believe the word of the dog owner, especially after all that went on with the pitbulls previous to this incident. And as a former dobe owner, I know that they are very prone to jumping up and bopping people on the nose. It is one of their traits. It would be nice to believe that was all Heidi did, and if I were her owner, I would WANT to believe that. But there were teeth marks, so….
Don’t worry about it. You’re a dog lover and compassionate and passionate both.
Glad Delilah survived her brush with the chocolate monster.
you should just leave the honey bear near what you are leaving out ;D