|
SEARCH
|
|
EDUCATION ▼
DISASTERS ▼
UPDATES-NEWS ▼
HOW TO HELP ▼
ABOUT ▼
|
|
|
THIS ALERT IS CLOSED. It is a live archive to use as a letter-writing example and for
background research.
Playing Political Games With A Dog’s Life
A detailed article gives an accurate picture of Stu and Jeff de la
Rosa's ordeal. Kinship Circle has re-phrased it for simplicity and length:
Stu lived uneventfully with Jeff and two other dogs for five years, before Jeff had
to leave him with a sitter in Aug. 2005, due to a family
emergency. He entrusted his dogs to an assistant who knew them. While away Stu
atypically clashed with another of Jeff's dogs and wound up
with a torn ear.
The pet sitter tried to slip a harness over Stu's wounded ear, to bring him to the
vet. Injured animals often act uncharacteristically defensive.
Such was the case with Stu: The scared dog bit the assistant twice on her arm.
The assistant did not file a report with police or L.A. Animal Services (LAAS). She
told Jeff she "didn't want to get Stu in trouble."
Yet three weeks later, Jeff was slapped with a lawsuit. Ten days after that, Stu was
seized (without warning) from Jeff's locked outdoor kennel.
Jeff rushed to Animal Services, but staff denied Stu's release, citing a bite report
received one full month after its occurrence. Thus began Stu's
incarceration, a battle of bureaucratic power plays so embarrassingly absurd, Stu's
story is notorious worldwide.
With the assistant now dramatizing her account (Stu "dragged her back and forth
across the floor"), lawyers asked for six million dollars in
damages. Meanwhile LAAS ruled in its initial hearing to revoke the dog's license. The
verdict would have let Jeff relocate Stu outside Los
Angeles or move himself. The verdict would have let Stu live.
Instead, LAAS ignored the Hearing Examiner's recommendations (defying LAAS rules) and
a Captain Helen Brakemeier memoed then-General
Manager Guerdon Stuckey: "After reviewing the [Hearing Examiner's] report, I
disagree...and think that the dog should be deemed dangerous."
Brakemeier never mentioned evaluating Stu herself or what authorized her to override
the original verdict. Still, Stuckey sided with Brakemeier
to sentence Stu to death.
Ironically, Mayor Villaraigosa fired Stuckey days later for the GM's inability to
bring euthanasia numbers down. Jeff only found out about
Brakemeier's inappropriate role in Stu's fate after securing all public records in
the case, in an attempt to save his dog.
Fast forward four years and Stu is still trapped in a bureaucratic thicket. He's aged
inside City facilities as Jeff fights a relentless legal battle.
Esteemed dog behaviorists — such as Dr. Richard Polsky, a co-creator of City
criteria for gauging dangerous dogs, and Bobby
Dorofshar of New Leash on Life, another City advisor and one-time member of its
Spay/Neuter Advisory Committee — have testified
that Stu poses no threat of aggression to humans. Their common conclusion stems from
assessment of Stu's pre- and post-incident behavior,
along with comprehension of how the victim's actions may have triggered the bites.
Dorofshar even sheltered Stu at his own facility for many
months, during which time he came to know the dog.
Animal Services and the City Attorney's office remain dead-set on killing Stu. Are
they peeved over the negative publicity? Just before the
forced resignation of previous General Manager Ed Boks, the City Council admonished
him for blogging against Jeff (and other LAAS critics) on
the City's time.
Animal Services Commission, created to monitor LAAS, even advocated for Stu's life.
Commissioner Archie Quincey, a 30-year L.A. County
Animal Control veteran, motioned the City Attorney to call off his resistance to
Jeff's appeal. Quincey proposed the case go back to Superior
Court to drop Stu's sentence because evidence shows a denial of due process. But
Commissioner Quincey's motion has vanished from the
Commission's agenda and a 6/8/09 meeting before Stu's Appeals Court case was
cancelled as well.
No one seems to know who's in charge — Animal Services Commission or Animal
Services Department — of meeting agendas. It
is clear, however, that Stu's case is shuffled so that Commissioner Quincey's motion
goes unheard.
Quincey intends to bring up Stu's case at the June 22 meeting whether it's scheduled
or not. "I think it's gone too far," he told reporter Kate Woodviolet for LA Pet Rescue Examiner. "I have a
lot of Animal Control experience. I saw the pictures
[of the human victim's injuries], there were a couple of small puncture wounds —
and the dog was injured when it happened. On that
one bite Stu gets the ultimate penalty? That's like getting the electric chair for a
misdemeanor!"
At this point, there is but one fair and merciful outcome left: Stu needs to go
home. Yesterday.
Kinship Circle does not usually cover complex dog custody cases. Stu's story is different. His
person, Jeff de la Rosa, is a Kinship Circle supporter. We've watched Stu grow old in "jail" since he
was wrongfully impounded in 2005. Please read the sample letter below, and an account of Stu's
ordeal after that. Stu still faces death. As always, the decision to act is yours. PHOTOS: From
L.A. Animal Services impoundment of Stu to 4 years later. A final Thanksgiving with Stu not home after
3+ years in custody.
THIS ALERT IS CLOSED. It is a live archive to use as a letter-writing example and for
background research.
|
|
direct send
sample letter
go to petition instead
|
how to email a letter:
- Copy LETTER below. Paste into an email.
- Change some words. Sign name, address, country.
- Copy EMAIL ADDRESSES. Paste in TO: line of an email.
SEND letter from your email program.
|
how to fax or mail a letter:
- Open sample letter as a DOC or PDF.
- Change some words. Sign name, address, country.
- Print letter to fax or mail using CONTACT INFORMATION on this page or in the DOC or PDF.
|
 
Dear City of Los Angeles Officials,
I trust all letter recipients are familiar with Stu, a rescued dog who lived an
uneventful five years with Jeff de la Rosa, before
de la Rosa
entrusted his dogs to an assistant while away for a family emergency.
Under that pet sitter's care, in August 2005, Stu atypically clashed with another
household dog and wound up with a torn ear. It
is accepted
knowledge that injured animals may react defensively. As the pet sitter slipped a
harness over Stu's hurt ear, the scared dog bit
her twice on
the arm.
"A couple of puncture wounds," Commissioner Archie Quincey, a 30-year veteran of L.A.
Country Animal Control, would later state.
Still, a full
month after the incident, the assistant served de la Rosa with a lawsuit and Stu was
seized from a locked, backyard kennel. Thus
began Stu's
incarceration under L.A. Animal Services (LAAS) and a bureaucratic battle so absurd,
Stu's story has gained worldwide notoriety.
What is the point of keeping this now elderly dog on death row? Dr. Richard Polsky, a
co-creator of City criteria for gauging
dangerous dogs,
and Bobby Dorofshar of New Leash on Life, also a City advisor and one-time member of
its Spay/Neuter Advisory Committee — have
testified that Stu poses no threat of aggression to humans. Their conclusion stems
from assessment of Stu's pre- and post-incident
behavior,
plus comprehension of how the victim's actions may have triggered the bites.
Dorofshar sheltered Stu at his own facility for many
months,
during which time he came to know the dog.
The City Attorney should call off his resistance to de la Rosa's appeal and close the
books on this case. Please stop shuffling
Stu through a
bureaucratic thicket and let the dog live his final years with de la Rosa.
After four years of wrongful internment in LAAS facilities, just one fair and
merciful outcome remains: Stu needs to go home.
Yesterday.
Sincerely,
|
|
contact information
go to petition instead
|
Most alerts have many email recipients. If one or more emails bounce that does NOT mean all failed.
Send failed email messages to: info@kinshipcircle.org
Please do not send us hostile notes.
|
- Official websites list outdated or incorrect emails.
- Recipients block emails if swamped with mail.
- A server may be down or not accepting email.
- The email recipient's inbox is full (over quota).
- Occasionally the same email works at later time.
|
|
email addresses only
THIS ALERT IS CLOSED
|
full contact information
City Attorney Elect Carmen Trutanich
180 East Ocean Blvd.
Long Beach, CA 90802
ph: 562-216-4444; fax: 562-216-4445; (no email available)
[outgoing] City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo
800 City Hall East, 200 North Main Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
ph: 213-978-8100; fax: 213-978-8312
email: Rocky.Delgadillo@lacity.org
Ms. Laurie Rittenberg and Mr. Todd Leung
Office of the City Attorney
200 N Main Street; City Hall East, 9th floor
Los Angeles CA 90012
fax: 213-978-2250; email: Laurie.Rittenberg@lacity.org,
Todd.Leung@lacity.org, Dov.Lesel@lacity.org
BOARD OF ANIMAL SERVICES COMMISSIONERS
President Tariq Khero: tariqkhero@gmail.com
Vice President Kathy Riordan: ninekitties@aol.com
Commissioner Irene Ponce: ireneponce@earthlink.net
Commissioner Ruthanne Secunda:
secundar@unitedtalent.com
Commisioner Archie Quincey: ajq1trq2@aol.com
(Mayoral aide) Jim Bickhart: Jim.Bickhart@lacity.org
Ani.Commission@lacity.org
PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE
Councilmember Jack Weiss, Chair, Council District 5
200 N. Spring Street, Room 440; Los Angeles, CA 90012
ph: 213-473-7005; fax: 213-978-2250
email: councilmember.weiss@lacity.org, weiss@lacity.org
Councilmember Bernard C. Parks, Council District 8
200 N. Spring Street, Rm. 460; Los Angeles, CA 90012
ph 213-473-7008; fax: 213-485-7683
email: Councilmember.Parks@lacity.org,
Bernard.Parks.Jr@lacity.org
|
Councilmember Greig Smith, Council District 12
200 North Spring St., Rm 405
Los Angeles, CA 90012
ph: 213-473-7012; fax: 213-473-6925
email: councilmember.smith@lacity.org
Councilmember Dennis Zine, Council District 3
200 N. Spring Street, Rm.450
Los Angeles, CA 90012
ph: 213-473-7003; fax: 213-485-8988
email: Dennis.Zine@lacity.org
Councilmember Ed Reyes, Council District 1
200 N. Spring Street, Room 410
Los Angeles, CA 90012
ph: 213-473-7001; fax: 213-485-8907
email: councilmember.reyes@lacity.org, ed.reyes@lacity.org
David Hersch, Public Safety Deputy: David.Hersch@lacity.org
Mike Hernandez, Assistant Chief of Staff:
Mike.Hernandez@lacity.org
Moniquea Roberson, Executive Assistant / Administrative Manager:
Moniquea.Roberson@lacity.org
Jose A. Gardea, Chief of Staff: jose.gardea@lacity.org
Rebecca Valdez, Chief Planning Deputy: rebecca.valdez@lacity.org
Guadalupe Duran-Medina, Planning Deputy:
guadalupe.duran.medina@lacity.org
Lisa Flores, Executive Assistant/Scheduler: lisa.flores@lacity.org
Tony Perez, Communications Director: tony.perez@lacity.org
Monica Valencia, Press Deputy: monica.valencia@lacity.org
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, City Hall
200 North Spring Street, RM 303
Los Angeles, CA 90012
ph: 213-978-0600; fax: 213-978-0750
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa: mayor@lacity.org
Jim Bickhart, Mayor's Office: Jim.Bickhart@lacity.org
|
|
|
automated web petition
go back to direct-send
|
about web petitions
When you use the web petition instead of direct-send, your comments — and everyone else's — come from one place: Our website server.
WEB PETITIONS REQUIRE THE LEAST EFFORT, BUT SOMETIMES CAN:
- Create a spam effect that angers recipients and hurts outcome for animals.
- Compel recipients to block the entire petition, so no one's comments get through.
|
|
|
 
Your tax-deductible gift pays to develop learning initiatives and mass print literature for educators, advocates, students… Together, we can spread the truth about animals!
|
|
|
source of information & references
|
|
|
|
DISCLAIMER: Information in these materials is verified with original source. Kinship Circle does not assume responsibility for accuracy of information or for consequences of its use. Nothing on this website intends to encourage illegal action in whatever country you are reading it in. Kinship Circle does not engage in, nor support, any form of harassment or unlawful action. Nothing in this alert serves to promote such conduct.
EMAIL ADDRESSES: Kinship Circle cannot guarantee validity of email addresses. During a campaign, recipients may change or disable their email addresses. Email addresses obtained from government or other official websites may be outdated or incorrect.
|
|
|
| |
