Protests for Congo the shepherd

Another case of a canine wrongly accused -- at least as far as some dog folk are concerned.

Congo is a 2 1/2-year--old German shepherd from Princeton Township, N.J., who was sentenced to death for mauling gardener Giovanni Rivera, 42, on June 5. The dog's owners maintain that he was simply defending his family from a perceived threat.

On Tuesday, Municipal Court Judge Russell Annich Jr. let the euthanasia order stand. After clearing the packed courtroom because of outbursts from the crowd of mostly Congo supporters, he also ruled that four other shepherds owned by Guy and Elizabeth James be labeled "potentially dangerous." While this spares them from the needle, they will have to be muzzled when in public.

A euthanasia date was not set pending appeal.

The judge meanwhile, is receiving death threats.

The James family maintains that the workers did not heed warning to stay in the car. After one of the men confronted the dogs with a rake, Rivera ran to Elizabeth James for protection. James says Rivera grabbed her twice and pulled her down as he fell, provoking the dogs' protective instinct.

Rivera received a $250,000 settlement from the James' insurance company. He received 65 injections of rabies treatments because some of the dogs were unvaccinated at the time of the attack.

Meanwhile, an intense Internet campaign is underway to save Congo.

Congo supporters are urged to email Judge Annich in care of the Court Administrator:  caroline_sapio@princeton-township.nj.us, as well as Gov. Corzine at www.nj.gov/governor/govmail.html (609-292-6000) in hopes he will issue a pardon.

A representative at the governor's office confirmed that calls to the above number were being tallied.

Comments

[Pam A.]

Once again common sense was lacking here. If you enter the premises where a dog resides, it is going to protect its territory from any perceived threat.
The gardeners should have remained in their vehicle until the dogs had been kenneled. If I remember this story correctly, the gardeners also showed up early so the owners didn't have a chance to get their dogs kenneled before the gardeners came on the premises.

[Susan Lorinsky]

Once again, dogs are the scapegoat because of human stupidity. Why would a person walk on someone's property after being warned about the dogs? I assume the gardeners saw the dogs walking around. I just hope another breed doesn't get labeled because someone lacked brains.

[DL Gazza]

Judge Russell Annich Jr.,
What would you do if approached by someone with a rake? Would you instinctively protect yourself? What if you were with a loved one? Would you instinctively protect them?

[Kathleen Stephenson]

DL Gazza - This very thing was brought out in a free series on dog training I am getting through the internet. Read below. Now I understand more why Onnie's aggression must be controlled now - not only for safety but also to take the burden of protection off of Onnie as well.

Posted from the SitStayFetch Dog Training Site:

Your Role
In most cases dogs become aggressive because they don't know what else to do. The reason they don't know what else to do is because there is no one else there to tell them or show them what to do, or even assure them that they should do NOTHING instead. In the absence of your guidance and leadership, they are forced to make all these decisions on their own. That's not only a downright dangerous position to put them, it's also unfair.

This is something that professional trainer Brian Heward explains quite well in the Dog Training DVD Series that we have put out at Kingdom of Pets. He talks a lot about establishing your role as leader. Now everyone knows how very important it is to position yourself at the top of the "pack" in your hybrid family of humans and dogs. But Brian really makes sense of why it is in fact *more* stressful for a dog who is a dominant "Alpha" dog but really does not want to be.

When a dog's role is not made clear by his owner, the pressure is on the dog to protect his owner, protect his territory, not to mention protect himself so his own role does not come into question. That's a lot of work and a lot of worry. And the result is all too often an aggressive dog that really does not need to be that way. Punishing a dog who is ultimately trying to watch out for everyone inevitably makes things worse.

To give you some examples, now that you know what aggressive posturing looks like, if you see these signs in another dog, AVOID that dog on your walks. At the same time, keep your confidence and your nerves intact when you do: your dog is sensing every last bit of your anxiety, and perhaps even feeling it (how many times have you seen tense owners pull in their lead for dear life when you walk by with your dog?). Just tell your dog that you'll be taking a wide berth, and walk calmly past. If there's not enough space to do that even, have your dog on a "sit" command and place yourself (the leader of the group) in between yourself and the suspect dog as it walks past. If the owner does not keep their dog under control, you might even let them know about it.

The opposite applies: if you come across a dog that is exhibiting playful and friendly signs, TELL your dog that this is a "friend" and that a greeting is ok. If possible, I've found that it works well if you greet the dog first, then "ok" the mutual canine greeting second.

All in all, you need to communicate to your dog what is a genuine threat and what is not, and in reality, there is not all that much in this world that should be a genuine threat to your dog if you're doing your job as the boss. More than that, you need to communicate in a calm yet assertive manner. It's about body language remember. No matter what you SAY, if you ACT like you're freaked out, your dog will do the same.

As Brian says, our world does not equal a dog's world - our world is much bigger, much noisier, and indeed, much scarier. But it is our world that we've asked our dogs to live in. Not only that, we've asked them to behave in it too. All the more reason they need the right sort of guidance.

[Darlene O'Sullivan]

IMPORTANT*********** THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE IS TAKING A TALLY OF HOW MANY PHONE CALLS ARE COMING IN. PLEASE CALL YOUR SUPPORT IN FOR CONGO!!!!
GOV. CORZINE: 609-292-6000
ALSO, LOCALS - HE WILL BE TAKING QUESTIONS ON PBS TONIGHT, CHANNEL 13 AT 8:00 PM.
THIS IS NOT GOING TO BE ANOTHER DUKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Susan Lorinsky]

I e-mailed the judge and Gov. Corzine. I could not get through on the phone and my e-mail to the Gov. came back. At least the judge's went through. I just hope common sense prevails and a pardon is granted. You're right, Darlene. Another Duke case must not occur. After hearing from Jane of Montville AC that a Rottie was left tied outside a neighboring town's AC in the rain and she apparently just had pups, I'll take the animals side anyday. Reading this made me sick.
Not to worry, Jane is going to get the Rottie Girl since big dogs are her specialty. She just loves them.

[Joe]

I'll remember that next time you're in bitten in half below waist

[Teri Salvador]

German Shephrds are bred to protect property and people and now this dog is being put to death for doing what is natural to the dog? This is outrageous and the judge should be fired, that is the most stupid judgement I have ever heard of, let the euthanasia order should be applied to the judge.

[Corry]

How To Start Training Your Cat Good cat behavior is not something that's reserved for those cat calenders. Real cats and sometimes are a real terror. Clawing your curtains, furniture and everything except the post you bought them. Even worse they can spray or pee on on your carpets or rugs and the smell can drive you out of the house! Before you give up entirely or go out and get a dog you can follow some simple advise and make your life a lot easier. It's a common misconception that cats can't be trained. Many owners believe their cat's are too old, too wild or independent to be trained. Wrong again! You can get wonderful results with your feline if you learn to work with your cat's nature rather than against it. You'll also start building a very tight bond by the interaction during the training process. You can bring even the most difficult to master skills within your cat's reach by proceeding at your cat's pace-not yours.

[Burt Lang]

I always love to see a cat comment on a dog site ;-)