Clock ticks down for lucky NY dog, a cause celebre
NEW YORK — Animal welfare activists and pet lovers Friday demanded that a dog that survived being thrown off the sixth-story roof of a Brooklyn building this summer be allowed to live.
After months of working to rehabilitate the 1-year-old, brown-and-white pit bull mix named Oreo, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said it planned to euthanize her because of her unpredictable aggression.
But that reasoning was rejected by hundreds of people across the country in e-mails, calls and Twitter messages to the ASPCA. At least one pet sanctuary in New York offered to take in the dog.
“The aggression thing is a dumb excuse because all dogs can be worked with,” said Emily Danks, a self-described animal rescuer who said she was escorted out of the ASPCA’s building on the Upper East Side after trying to convince staff members to let her take the dog.
“I was just like I can’t let this dog die,” she said, adding that she had planned to take it to Pets Alive, a sanctuary in Middletown that had offered to take in Oreo.
Protesters also rallied outside the building early Friday morning.
Matt DeAngelis, executive director of Pets Alive, said his organization had left phone messages for the ASPCA with an offer to take in Oreo. But he said they had not heard anything.
“We’re giving them another route to take the dog rather than kill the animal,” he said. “I’m perplexed at why they wouldn’t take it.”
In an e-mail, Stephen Zawistowski, one of the ASPCA’s lead animal behavior experts who had worked with Oreo, said the organization doesn’t believe that sanctuary placement “is good for her welfare.”
“We made this decision having the experience of working with a number of well-known sanctuaries and rescue groups,” he said, adding that ASPCA was unfamiliar with Pets Alive as an organization. “If Pets Alive would like to be a resource in the future, we can arrange an inspection and vetting process.”
DeAngelis said his organization had been around for 30 years and had experience dealing with aggressive dogs like Oreo.
“It sounds to me like the ASPCA is determined to kill this dog,” he said. “I would invite the ASPCA to put down the needle and give us a call.”
ASPCA spokesman Andy Izquierdo said the agency had received well over 200 calls and e-mail messages by mid-afternoon, as well as at least two death threats.
“People don’t know the behavioral piece,” Izquierdo said. “We could fix her physically, but we couldn’t do anything with her psychologically. That’s what people are grappling with. They are not aware of her unpredictable aggression.”
The ASPCA said officers responding to calls June 18 of a dog having been beaten and then thrown off the roof of a building at a Brooklyn housing project found the animal on the ground. It had two broken legs and a fractured rib.
Fabian Henderson, a 19-year-old who lived at the complex in the borough’s Red Hook section, was arrested on felony charges. He pleaded guilty Oct. 20 to aggravated cruelty to animals. He is to be sentenced Dec. 1.
There was no phone listing for Henderson at the Brooklyn building. His lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment.
Related News
Dog thrown off NYC roof becomes cause celebre as euthanasia nearsNovember 13th, 2009 Dog that survived roof toss becomes cause celebreNEW YORK — Animal welfare activists and pet lovers are demanding that a dog that survived being thrown off a six-story New York building this summer be allowed to live. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says it will euthanize the pit bull mix named Oreo on Friday.
Oz man bites dog to save pet pooch!November 11th, 2009 MELBOURNE - A man has revealed that he bit a dog to save his own pooch from being violently attacked. Phillip Lane said he and his wife Linda were strolling on a quiet Collendina dog beach with their two-year-old Jack Russell-cross-beagle, Buddy, when a huge, brown ridgeback grabbed their little pooch in its jaws.
Donations down, bills overdue, staying afloat is goal at overloaded SoCal basset hound rescueNovember 10th, 2009 Bill collectors keep hounding basset rescue ownerLOS ANGELES — The basset hounds at Daphneyland aren't the only ones with long, sad faces. Donations to the nation's largest basset hound rescue have never been so low, bills so overdue, the need so crucial or the help so thin, said Dawn Smith, Daphneyland's president and founder.
Is that a ferret in your pants? Police say Fla. man nearly got away with shoplifting $129 petOctober 29th, 2009 Cops: Fla. man stole ferret by shoving it in pantsJACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — It's one thing for shoplifters to hide plunder in their pants.
Scientists develop 'scaffold' to regenerate lost or damaged bones, tissuesOctober 20th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Lizard has a unique ability to regrow body tissue that is damaged or torn. If its tail is pulled off, it grows right back.
Infants match humans' faces with speech, monkeys with monkey callsOctober 20th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has revealed that the infants as young as five months are able to correctly identify humans as the source of speech and monkey as the source of monkey calls. The study has shown that human infants are able to correctly match different kinds of vocalizations to different species.
Novel bio-technique can help regenerate bones tooOctober 20th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Nature has provided the lizard with a unique ability to regrow body tissue that is damaged or torn; if its tail is pulled off, it grows right back. A bio-technique developed by Tel Aviv University (TAU) might be able to do something similar, helping humans replace lost or missing bones and damaged tissues.
Immigrant allowed to stay in Britain, thanks to pet cat!October 18th, 2009 LONDON - An immigrant in Britain, who was about to be deported, has been allowed to stay in the country after a court ruled in his favour - just because he and his girlfriend had bought a pet cat. The Asylum and Immigration Tribunal ruled that sending the Bolivian man back to his homeland would breach his human rights because he was entitled to a "private and family life".
A clean Ganga could enhance dolphins' presence in the river, says expertOctober 11th, 2009 PATNA - Gangetic dolphins were once found in abundance in the river Ganges. But over the years a steady increase in pollution in the river has dwindled the population of Dolphins.
Federal agency says cost to developers of saving threatened frog in California will top $500MOctober 7th, 2009 Developers face costs for saving frog in Calif.SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Federal wildlife officials estimate that measures needed to protect the California red-legged frog will cost developers up to $507 million over the next two decades.
Charity's volunteer pilots save animals from death at shelters, fly them to new livesSeptember 15th, 2009 Volunteer pilots save pets from death rowTAMPA, Fla. — Thanks to a group of volunteer pilots, dogs and cats are being plucked from death row at animal shelters and flown to other states where it's easier for them to get adopted.
Salvation from above: Volunteer pilots fetch animals from full shelters, fly them to new livesSeptember 15th, 2009 A paw and a prayer: Pilots save shelter animalsTAMPA, Fla. — Lady Di is a lovely purebred collie with a pleasant disposition, just like lots of other dogs dumped at shelters in areas that lack anywhere near enough would-be owners.
Ohio cat discovered alive in the rubble almost 4 weeks following building fire in OhioSeptember 10th, 2009 Cat in Ohio survives 26 days under fire debrisFRANKLIN, Ohio — A woman's pet cat has been found alive, buried beneath debris 26 days after an Ohio fire. Sandy LaPierre says she assumed 1-year-old Smoka had died from the Aug.
Pet dog saves 3 Chinese kids from drowning in raging riverSeptember 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - A pet dog has saved three children from drowning in a raging river in China. One child, however, died in the incident that took place in Tianmen, Hubei province, on Sunday.
WTO to open its doors, if only for a daySeptember 1st, 2009 LONDON - The World Trade Organization (WTO), the pet peeve of global anti-poverty protesters who accuse it of working in secrecy, is opening up its heavy wooden doors to the public for the first time. It's only for a day but after years of having to field charges of aiding hush-hush backroom deals, the Geneva-based UN body is going to town with its Open Day.
