From: Humane Halifax [mailto:humanehalifax@yahoo.ca]
Sent: Sat 13/03/2010 5:14 PM
To: (the local media and HRM councilors)
Cc: humane_halifax@yahoo.groups.ca
Subject: Personal bias should not be part of Herald's news coverage of Brindi
March 13, 2010
To the HRM council, the Chronicle-Herald, and the local media of Halifax:
We have learned that community writer Pat Lee of the Chronicle-Herald (March 10, "Advocates Offer Option for Brindi" ), is personally connected to the "advocates" in question. This group includes members of the SPCA, and though it is a matter before the courts, it has been relentlessly campaigning for nearly a year for this dog to be "re-homed", i.e., taken away from the person who saved her from the needle in 2008.
Pat Lee's facebook friends include the following, all of whom are associated with or belong to this "advocacy" group:
Joan Sinden, blogger
Annette-Netta Armitage
Heather Morrison
Janet Chernin, who has been prosecuted by the city for running an illegal dog care facility
Kat Horne, VP of the Nova Scotia SPCA
LeeAnne Poirier Tibbo, of the dog legislation council, who has circulated false information about Francesca Rogier
Silvia Jay, trainer
among others
These people also belong to a group called ARPO that has been attacking Francesca Rogier for a long time. None of these people know Ms. Rogier personally. Last spring, ARPO published a defamatory and misleading letter about Ms. Rogier in The Coast. Mr. Bob Ottenbrite is also a member of ARPO, and is involved in litigation with Ms. Rogier. Therefore his position cannot be seen as objective. The Herald's web editor, Rick Conrad, is friendly with Joan Sinden. Sinden has been personally attacking Rogier in her blog with a series of libelous remarks. Conrad was also seen at the recent dog expo associating with Gail Gallant, who has been publicly harassing and cyberstalking Francesca Rogier for over a year.
We deplore ARPO and its associates for singling out Ms. Rogier as an "irresponsible owner". We call upon the Herald to exercise a greater amount of professional objectivity and cease giving such people a public forum in which to push their agenda without scrutiny. Has anyone asked, for instance, what ARPO is doing about the numerous owners in this city whose dogs are genuine threats to public safety?
Any 'advocation' for re-homing in this case is inappropriate. Brindi is not a dangerous dog. She should not have been seized. She should be returned as soon as possible to her own home with her loving and responsible owner, where she belongs.
Sincerely,
Humane Halifax for Better Animal Control
humanehalifax@yahoo.com
5 comments:
Ms. Rogier was ordered by the SPCA several times to muzzle and leash Brindi. Brindi may not be dangerous but she is certainly not well trained. She is dog aggressive and rambunctious. Ms. Rogier defied that muzzle and leash order thereby putting Brindi in harms way and landing her on death row.
How is that not an "irresponsible dog owner"? No one wants to see Brindi killed for being the victim of irresponsible ownership. But returning her to Ms. Rogier would be a really bad idea because the next time it happens, (and it will happen again) do you think the SPCA is going to hesitate before killing this dog if given another chance?
Cheryl, you've really got your facts in a twist here. Maybe we can help.
First of all, the SPCA doesn't do animal control anymore. HRM does.
Secondly, there was ONE muzzle order. Brindi got loose without a muzzle accidentally, ONE TIME, not several. Other than this mishap, nobody has any evidence that Ms. Rogier "defied" the muzzle order.
Now - as for landing on death row, you're wrong there as well. It is not Ms. Rogier's doing. That decision was entirely up to the animal control officer. The law lets him do what he wants. He could have issued a fine. In fact the law says all violations are punishable by FINES. Not by killing or taking away a dog.
Finally, unless you're a really good psychic, Cheryl, you can't say with certainty what will happen in the future.
We think returning Brindi is a really good idea. You would want your dog back if it was like Brindi. She is not rambunctious or aggressive; her obedience training was great and the SPCA staff will verify that. A small part of her behavior is problematic and needs correcting. But experts say she is totally capable of that correction, And as she has said, Ms. Rogier has a fence to take care of any lapses.
We think you should worry more about your dog, if you have one. Because, though we're not psychic, we've looked at the records and we're pretty sure something like this could happen again.
There's no point responding to Cheryl Jewhurst, she's a friend of Gail Gallant and is just here to cause trouble.
I am so confused as to how some people leap to labeling Ms. Rogier an "irresponsible" dog owner for an accident. To my thinking, she would be irresponsible if she had no regard for anyone and simply turned Brindi loose. But this was quite simply an accident.
How callous are these people that call Ms. Rogier "irresponsible" that they cannot see all that she has offered to remedy the situation so no accidents occur in the future.
And how stupid you sound making such statements when you do not even have your facts straight. Now THAT'S irresponsible!
It's so unfair to label Brindi "dog-aggressive".
There was plenty of real eyewitness testimony in court to show that Brindi gets along well with lots of dogs. Just because she reacted when she felt threatened in some situations doesn't make her dog-aggressive. And she has been deemed highly trainable. That's HIGHLY TRAINABLE. Meaning her behavior, like many other dogs, can be corrected.
Don't you believe in training?
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