Dog sentenced to die for protection owner from illegal alien (illegals, fence)

[nativeDallasite]

Originally Posted by Vagabond

Good work! Hope it makes a difference.

Probably won't; the e-mail bounced.

[Vagabond]

Native - their box may be full. From the interest this story has generated, I wouldn't be surprised:

From: Trentonian.com (http://tinyurl.com/3dr7ta - broken link) BTW, these geniuses clearly consider any dog that bites to be vicious whether or not it was reasonably provoked:

Dead dog barking: Should this pooch perish for chomping a gardener?
By Rick Murray
PRINCETON TWP. — Hundreds of protesters are expected to rally here Tuesday in a last-ditch campaign to save Congo, the German shepherd sentenced to death in local court last June for defending his family.
“He was nicknamed by everyone as the ‘Happy Dog,’ ” said Kat McAlfee, a local animal rights activist. “We want to put pressure on the judge to change his decision.”
The rally will be staged at 10 a.m. outside the Princeton Township municipal court, 400 Witherspoon St., where Judge Russell Annich is expected to officially record the death sentence he handed down Oct. 31.
Congo’s owners, Guy and Elizabeth James, acknowledge the 18-month-old shepherd, as well as his mate Lucia and their four puppies, attacked two panicky gardeners June 5 at the James’ 4-acre property here on the 1700 block of Stuart Road West.

But James, a 46-year-old businessman, says his dogs attacked only because one gardener gouged Congo’s puppies with a rake, while the other gardener “manhandled” Elizabeth James to the ground.
“We’re going to fight to the end to save Congo’s life,” said James, a father of four.

‘All lies’
Local Animal Warden Mark Johnson says that story has too many bite marks to hold water. Johnson insists Congo was wild and vicious, inflicting multiple bites on illegal immigrant Giovanni Rivera, one of the gardeners. He said the other dogs are dangerous but can live if they remain muzzled.
“Congo happy? It’s all lies,” Johnson said. “This dog attacked for no apparent reason. He’s dangerous.”
The gardener, Johnson said, “was severely mauled, receiving bite wounds to the head and all over his back and legs.”
For his part, James remains irate and has vowed to appeal Annich’s decision in Superior Court. “Rivera manhandled my wife, Elizabeth. And now my son, Benjamin, has nightmares and cries every single day,” James said.
And so, more drama may unfold in a saga that has drawn widespread attention on TV and radio. “A radio show on 101.5 FM has been running a poll that has 35,000 in favor of Congo, and only 1,000 against him,” said James, who was interviewed by Philadelphia TV’s Action News yesterday afternoon.

Bizarre twists
The case has included bizarre twists and developments, such as a stray dog eating defense witnesses’ statements, an expert medical witness, and private investigators interrogating pound workers.
Attorneys have already arranged an insurance settlement of $250,000 for Rivera, who has since recovered from his bite wounds and now lives in upscale Hamilton Township.

Puppy strayed
Rivera and his four-member crew created problems from the start that June morning when they arrived at 7 a.m., an hour earlier than expected, according to James.
James, who speaks Spanish, said he was getting ready to take his morning shower when through a window he saw the workers pull up in their car. He yelled in Spanish for them to stay in their vehicle until he had finished his shower.
They did as they were told, he said, but sat in the car only for about 10 minutes. It was then, he said, that they saw his wife Elizabeth pull up with Benjamin in the family car. This arrival not only created a commotion drawing the dogs, but some say it represents an apparent glitch in James’ ability to keep his dogs where they belong.
James has taken great pains to point out that, even though the gate to his fenced-in yard has been left open in the past, the dogs have been trained not to leave the property. He said they also have electronic sensors that shock them when they approach an invisible fence along the property’s perimeter.
However, Elizabeth James had that morning been out searching for one of the puppies, which had strayed into that territory between the conventional and invisible fences, James has acknowledged.

Dogs attack
The workers, all agree, got out of their car upon seeing Elizabeth’s vehicle, and the dogs, which had been feeding in a rear yard, came around to investigate. About here, the two sides of the story diverge.
Congo supporters say Rivera and a co-worker panicked upon seeing all these big dogs galloping their way. “Rivera grabbed my wife from behind,” James said. “What happened was, when he pulled at her, he went down and she went down with him.”
Congo, he added, only made his move when he saw his lady owner flailing on the ground.
The other gardener, an illegal worker whose name has never been released by authorities, used a rake to take on the dogs. Congo supporters say the worker gouged the naturally territorial K-9s, badly injuring all the puppies.
Congo detractors say the worker used the rake only in defense of all those snarling, howling jowls. They say the puppies suffered mere scratches.
‘Hero’ depressed
Animal Warden Johnson has even said he believes the family may have intentionally wounded one of the pups to make it look in worse shape than it was.
“Miraculously, there was a scar on one of the puppies heads, but when I examined them immediately after the attack, it wasn’t there,” he said.
Johnson also doesn’t buy James’ claim that his dogs were bred for obedience. “He fed them raw meat and dead rabbits,” he said. “That puts aggression in a dog.”
James counters that his story is backed by dozens of affidavits from workers doing construction on his property, attesting to how docile his animals actually are. He points out the two adult dogs have been to obedience school and the puppies are away at such a school now.
“I don’t know why they would believe Rivera,” James said. “He’s changed his story five times.”
Johnson refuted that claim. “He’s only changed it three times,” the animal warden corrected.
Meanwhile, Congo sits forlorn in the local pound, no longer a happy animal.
“He’s depressed, anxious to come home,” James said. “He has to be fed by hand. The headlines should read, ‘Congo is a hero.’”

[RickM]

"He's only changed it three times." And that's ok? Not at all, it means this man, an illegal immigrant, sees himself and his buddy in a sticky situation, and changes it each time something new gets thrown in their face. If someone is seeking aid from animal activist groups, WHY would they harm their own animal(s)? They wouldn't. The way they messed up was by putting the animal-activist crowd against the pro-illegal immigration crowd. This will be an extreme case of the minority being stomped out because of flawed ideals and logic. This judge is a fool, and should be removed from his seat. That insurance company should be fined millions, if not billions. The illegal immigrants involved should be deported immediately and without question. The dog should be free to return with its family. The family should then sue the illegal immigrants for whatever they have, and then sue that lawyer until he is on the streets begging for food on a street corner.

If that happened to me and my family, you damn well better believe that illegal immigrant would not have walked off my property alive. As far as I am concerned, someone being pulled down by their hair is assault, and swinging a rake at PUPPIES is definitely assault. Seriously, how do you justify that? "Your honor, my client felt threatened by those puppies, their snarling caused him to use his metal rake to defend himself." "Against puppies?" "Yes, your honor, those puppies proposed a serious threat to the well being of my client." Shame on that lawyer for finding a way to make that work, and I can't honestly believe that judge let that slide.
I have personally never seen a puppy snarl, most infant animals don't, because they just run to their parents for help (Having observed bears, deer, mountain lion, and bobcat in the wild while hunting and just being out there, that has always been the case. The scared infants run behind mommy, while mommy moves in to protect them). If he was swinging a rake at puppies, that to me is a clear indication of an attempt to provoke an attack. Anyways, if I saw a person, regardless of whether or not they were illegal, swing at my dogs with a rake and another bring my wife (though I am not married, this is hypothetical) by her hair, I would fully enact my right to defend my own.

Another fine example of how Illegal Immigrants (Key word ILLEGAL) are destroying this nation. I still cannot see how a rational person can justify them being here. That logic, or rather lack thereof, is beyond comprehension to a reasonable person.

[astrogal]

Thank you.

[Jim280]

Originally Posted by ProLogic

Again, crossing the border is not a crime. It is a Civil offense. I have said this in the past and will say it again, crossing the border is equivalent to J-walking across a state line.

I don't think so PRO, crossing the border illegally is a Federal Crime.



Under Title 8 Section 1325 of the U.S. Code, "Improper Entry by Alien," any citizen of any country other than the United States who:

Enters or attempts to enter the United States at any time or place other than as designated by immigration officers; or

Eludes examination or inspection by immigration officers; or

Attempts to enter or obtains entry to the United States by a willfully false or misleading representation or the willful concealment of a material fact;
has committed a federal crime.

[RickM]

Originally Posted by Jim280

I don't think so PRO, crossing the border illegally is a Federal Crime.



Under Title 8 Section 1325a of the U.S. Code, "Improper Entry by Alien," any citizen of any country other than the United States who:

Enters or attempts to enter the United States at any time or place other than as designated by immigration officers; or

Eludes examination or inspection by immigration officers; or

Attempts to enter or obtains entry to the United States by a willfully false or misleading representation or the willful concealment of a material fact, shall, for the first commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than 6 months, or both, and, for a subsequent commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18, or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.

Fixed it for you (all corrections are in bold). But yes, this does make being an ILLEGAL Immigrant a crime, but not a felony (first offense anyways). However, it is NOT a civil offense, either.

This civil offenses are section b: Improper time or place; civil penalties. The other 2 sections, c: Marriage Fraud and d: Immigration-related entrepreneurship fraud are also criminal acts. Hope this clears up the "confusion", which seems more like attempts to mislead.

Here's a link, since you like to ask for sources: US CODE: Title 8,1325. Improper entry by alien

[Bummer]

Originally Posted by Jim280

I don't think so PRO, crossing the border illegally is a Federal Crime.

Under Title 8 Section 1325 of the U.S. Code, "Improper Entry by Alien," any citizen of any country other than the United States who:

Enters or attempts to enter the United States at any time or place other than as designated by immigration officers; or

Eludes examination or inspection by immigration officers; or

Attempts to enter or obtains entry to the United States by a willfully false or misleading representation or the willful concealment of a material fact;
has committed a federal crime.

Thanks, Jim!

I was having a problem accepting ProLogic's MOD CUT claim.

[RickM]

Oh, and ProLogic, last I checked it was legal to cross state boundaries on foot. In fact, there is this place in New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado where this is actually a tourist attraction. Try googling "Four Corners", you may be surprised. Definitely not a crime or civil disobedience.

[ProLogic]

Originally Posted by RickM

Oh, and ProLogic, last I checked it was legal to cross state boundaries on foot. In fact, there is this place in New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado where this is actually a tourist attraction. Try googling "Four Corners", you may be surprised. Definitely not a crime or civil disobedience.

Civil disobedience? explain yourself.

[RickM]

Sorry, meant to say Civil Offense. Was reading some other stuff and got cornfused. :P