Congo protects his family — on his property — and may die for his courage
By Gina Spadafori
November 13, 2007
Regular Pet Connection reader Susan brings this story to our attention. Her e-mail to me this morning is better than anything I could say on the subject:
Your dog and mine will be executed for protecting us if we don’t stop this ugly trend. Some Pet Connection readers will be uncomfortable–they prefer to think of dogs as harmless fuzzy helpless creatures. But if you’re serious about working dogs–and I have every reason to believe that you are–we need to address this problem now. In addition, the animal warden claims as “proof” that Congo was aggressive the fact that he was fed a raw meat diet.
Here’s more info, including a link to a photo of Congo, who looks like he may be a very nice sable working lines German shepherd dog:When landscapers showed up an hour early at a NJ couple’s home, the husband told them (in Spanish) not to get out of their car until he put his dogs away. They got out of the car anyway, and the GSDs began barking at them. One of the landscapers began beating the dogs bloody with a metal rake, and the dogs did not attack him. When the landscaper grabbed the wife and pulled her to the ground, causing her to start screaming in terror, a dog named Congo finally bit him to protect her, and the other dogs joined in. The husband was quickly alerted to the situation by one of the kids, and he ran out and called off the dogs. Result: The landscaper scored $250,000 from the couple’s insurance company instead of being charged with assault, and Congo has been declared vicious and sentenced to die by a judge (despite the testimony of canine behavior experts that the attack was clearly provoked). Congo is currently locked up in an animal shelter, severely depressed, while he waits for his execution. The animal warden claims that the dogs were aggressive because they were given a raw meat diet, and he doesn’t care that the landscaper has changed his story at least three times.
Congo has no history of aggression, only a history of being a happy, sociable dog. There’s a photo of him at http://www.nj1015.com/personalities/casey-rossi.shtm
How many of us have dogs who would have done exactly the same thing?
You can email the judge (Judge Annich) at caroline_sapio@princeton-township.nj.usYou can sign a petition at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/dogs-fa…n-to-save-congo
Today is the day the judge makes his final ruling, so now’s the time to let the judge know what you think.
Thanks, Susan.
This is such a legal farce. The prosecutor was quoted as saying that Congo could be home right now if the family had accepted the initial plea that was always on the table.
Comment by shibadiva — November 13, 2007 @ 1:29 pm
The initial plea required that Congo be declared potentially dangerous and his activities severely restricted. His owners (foolishly, I admit) believed that the courts would offer justice, and that Congo would be exonerated and allowed to resume his life without restrictions. I can’t say that I blame them for wanting justice for the dog who protected the wife when she was assaulted. However, if you want to argue that the owners had no business expecting the courts to act sanely with respect to a courageous dog, I’m afraid I have to agree. But now the fact remains that Congo is in terrible danger of being executed, and only a public outcry can save him.
Comment by Susan — November 13, 2007 @ 2:14 pm
Dogs defend their owners. Did the insurance company provide the attorneys for the couple? Sounds like a roll over and play dead scenario to me. It’s easier to fork over $$$ rather than hassle with the reality of the situation. Despite the fact that we claim to love our dogs, when it comes to these types of scenarios, the dog is usually the loser.
Comment by Carol — November 13, 2007 @ 3:18 pm
I just heard that the court still intends to have Congo executed. The next step is to call Gov. Corzine to encourage her to overturn the court’s decision. The phone number is 609-292-6000. They are very polite when they pick up the phone, and all you need to do is tell them you want Congo to be saved. They are keeping a tally of phone calls.
Comment by Susan — November 13, 2007 @ 3:27 pm
There’s a lot more to this story than you are reading here. For example, there are puppies that were injured, too. We’ve blogged it to death on the itchmo website. But I’ll say it again:
The judge is an idiot.
I see this whole debacle as:
[1] trespassing onto private property [by the workers]
[2] illegal alien issue [by the workers]
[3] assaulting the wife [by the workers]
[4] and most importantly, animal abuse [by the workers]
[5] admitting that the gardener changed his story 3 times [the Animal Control Officer]
[6] obviously not knowing enough about dog behavior and relying on the Animal Control Officer’s statements, as unfounded as they were, and issuing such a ruling [the Judge]
[7] the insurance company for paying off a huge settlement of $250,000 - that’s a lot of dog bites from two adults and their puppies.
I have a good hunch that the gardener saw an opportunity here. I can’t even begin to explain the actions of the insurance company.
Whatever happened to the laws that protected the homeowner and his property????
Please call the Governor’s office on the east coast Wednesday morning and tell them you want Congo saved and released NOW. 1-609-292-6000.
Comment by Lynn — November 13, 2007 @ 4:53 pm
I just tried to call and was told that the mailbox is full. Maybe they’ve gotten the “earfull” they need.
Comment by Susan Fox — November 13, 2007 @ 4:54 pm
As I already mentioned - wait until Wed. AM to call so you could get a live voice. And keep trying.
Anyone adept at researching? I’m interested in knowing just how bad the gardener’s injuries were. Did he go to the hospital by ambulance? Was he kept there overnight? Longer? At all? It just seems to me that $250K is a lot of dog bites. Something’s wrong with this picture.
Comment by Lynn — November 13, 2007 @ 5:19 pm
There was an update on 6 pm news Phila, Pa 6 abc. The owners are appealling to NJ superior court,so execution is delayed. However Congo is still locked up at the shelter & the other dogs are still tied up & muzzled. Keep contacting the governor’s office to make a difference. A lot of people turned out today with signs supporting Congo. By the way even my chihuahua would have attacked under those circumstances. We’d better all rethink hiring anyone,we could all be next ! And God forbid we homecook or feed raw,that causes agression.
Comment by Leslie k — November 13, 2007 @ 5:27 pm
Gosh, I guess the raw food explains why people bite.
Comment by Lynn — November 13, 2007 @ 5:34 pm
I just looked back into “old” news - July 26, 2007, where there is an article about this dog bite. Just reading the inconsistencies in the article is enought to make you delirious with all the mistakes. And get this…..supposedly 5 dogs and 5 gardeners.
And even worse, below the article are links to other articles regarding dog bites in the PA area during the month of October [guess they updated this part of the website]. One wonders if the Judge saw so much news about dog bites [without knowing the details of each] and just figured enough was enough.
I am now of the mind that only judges that have pets should try this kind of case. What’s this judge’s reputation as far as family pets?
Comment by Lynn — November 13, 2007 @ 5:49 pm
Check out this link and scroll down a bit - photos taken today.
http://njo.stage.advance.net/n.....prote.html
Comment by Lynn — November 13, 2007 @ 6:53 pm
That poor dog, just protecting his family..maybe that woman should countersue the garderner who grabbed her for assault.
Comment by Diane — November 13, 2007 @ 7:07 pm
Not only that, Diane, but as I understand it, Rivera is indeed an illegal immigrant who got $250K settlement IN ADDITION TO his medical bills being paid and some sort of reimbursement for workers compensation. Yep, that’s right…..illegal aliens [in New Jersey at least] apparently get coverage under workers comp.
There’s so much wrong on so many levels…….
If a trespasser grabbed my spouse and used him as a shield and through her down, you’d better believe I’d take that rake and….. well, you get the picture.
I thought the laws in the US were designed to protect the property owners from ininviteds.
Poor Congo - giving it his all to protect his mistress and his puppies.
Comment by Lynn — November 13, 2007 @ 7:21 pm
Oh. My. God. I for sure am about to get sick.
Comment by Great Dane Addict — November 14, 2007 @ 9:34 am
Oh and the link for the petition isn’t working!!!!!!! The site says it’s been removed!
Comment by Great Dane Addict — November 14, 2007 @ 9:43 am
Best to call 1-609-292-6000. The phones have been ringing off the hooks……I imagine they’re on other lines taking down other calls. I just got through now at 12:24 eastern time.
Comment by Lynn — November 14, 2007 @ 10:24 am
I am simply amazed that an animal warden believes that feeding dogs raw meat makes them aggressive. We need a study to put this ignorant myth to rest.
Comment by Richard — November 14, 2007 @ 10:37 am
It’s deja vu all over again:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/f.....nted=print
And now that bashing illegal immigrants has come into play, I imagine the hysteria will only increase.
Luisa [at work]
Comment by Luisa — November 14, 2007 @ 10:43 am
The petition is still up. When the page loads that the link sends you to, just search “Congo” (it’s the third petition from the top).
Comment by Jessica — November 14, 2007 @ 10:53 am
Okay - that one got ate, too.
Go to the site where the petition is, type Congo into the Search box, and it’s the second or third one down.
I sure hope this one posts . . . . .
Comment by The OTHER Pat — November 14, 2007 @ 10:55 am
So, Luisa, you agree that a dog biting someone who first beat the dog and then attacked the owner means that the dog is “vicious” and needs to be destroyed?
Comment by Lis — November 14, 2007 @ 11:46 am
I could not tell from scanning the story if this was jury or not. I expect I would probably be placed on such a jury because the gardeners lawyer would eliminate me from the pool as someone they would not be able to sway with an emotional argument.
If I were, it would not be an undivided decision. I don’t care who is involved, entering the yard is invading the dogs territory, but the dog was just being intimidating at that point, according to the story. That is not “no reason” that is GOOD REASON for a watchdog to be making noise and being intimidating. That the invader (gardener) responded with force to escalate the situation is poor judgement.
To be rewarded for this by an award far beyond the costs incurred to treat the resulting injury is another example of excess.
If this was a jury trial, I have to wonder what they heard in trial to reach this decision, if it was just a judge then someone really failed to present the facts convincingly, or the story as reported is misleading…
Comment by steve a — November 14, 2007 @ 12:15 pm
Bother the petition — call the Govenor at 1-609-292-6000 — I called at 3:41 pm EST, was put on hold for about 20 seconds, then was added to the tally to have Congo saved and released to his family. Very easy, very quick — it’s 3:44 pm and I’m all done.
Phone calls mean a lot more to politicians than petitions — make the call!
Comment by Dorene — November 14, 2007 @ 1:45 pm
Comment by Richard — November 14, 2007 @ 10:37 am
Richard,
i agree. as a raw feeder, i am certainly not creating a vicious dog, or cats for that matter! and yes, we feed rabbit here!~
Comment by straybaby — November 14, 2007 @ 4:52 pm
Please, somebody, is there an update on this Congo situation? Has the judge made a ruling?
Comment by elizabeth R — November 14, 2007 @ 5:30 pm
Luisa,
While I do certainly feel sorry for the child that was bitten by the dog, it’s be my experience that dogs don’t attack until they are provoked or they are fearful. We will never know exactly what happened prior to the dog attacking that child, but I will say this: parents need to start parenting. If you are unsure if your child is safe around an animal it is YOUR responsibility to be right there and to supervise. Not in another room or another part of the house. Parents need to stop shirking their duties and stop blaming others for their shortcomings.
Comment by Lynn — November 14, 2007 @ 5:39 pm
Congo ***
“Although a euthanasia date was postponed pending an appeal, the family was distraught. Owner Guy James, a 46-year-old businessman and his daughter, Hannah, 11, broke down before television cameras just after the ruling.”
The Times, Princeton, NJ - Nov. 14
http://www.nj.com/timesoftrent.....thispage=1
Comment by Nadine L. — November 14, 2007 @ 5:41 pm
The one fact remains - and that is, this idiot gardener entered their yard UNINVITED!! What if this had been a serial killer? Should the dogs just have sat there and done nothing? Once this group of idiots saw several dogs, they should have had sense enough to stay out!!Being a single woman, I have several dogs, all of whom are gentle non-aggressive sweethearts; HOWEVER, if any idiot walked into my backyard uninvited, God help them. If this company has indeed collected this huge amount I can just see more service companies down the road in the same scenario, hoping to get a windfall for doing something stupid. Does anyone know the name of this lawn service outfit?
Comment by Carole — November 15, 2007 @ 10:19 am
Carole,
I’d sure like to know, too. Bet it’s listed in the lawsuit. Good idea to find out the name and boycott the company whose employees have a hard time following customer instructions.
BTW - you DO know that a Superior Court Judge just sent Congo home to be with his family. Of course, the appeal is still yet to come and the killing is still a possibility.
http://www.nj.com/centraljersey/
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/st.....id=5759979
Comment by Lynn — November 15, 2007 @ 6:51 pm
Any nitwit that would go near a barking dog and then hit the dog with a shovel should be deported back to where he came from. The dog is innocent. If the owner spoke English, maybe none of this would happen. The dog is innocent, the humans are not.
Comment by Jeanne — December 4, 2007 @ 7:29 am
The owners should appeal and countersue the landscapers and charge them with tresspassing and assault. Why not sue ICE while they are at it for failing to protect all of us from illegal aliens!.
Comment by chris — December 4, 2007 @ 12:09 pm
As near as I can figure out from reading a lot of material about this, not just one or two stories that seemed to blame the gardener merely because he is an illegal alien, this is what appears to have happened:
1) The homeowner’s brother owns a temporary staffing agency that companies use for temporary workers. The gardeners were apparently employees of his brothers firm. They were there to work as ordered and were therefore NOT tresspassors unless one is a tresspassor for showing up to work a few minutes early.
2) The workers arrived early. They had been there the day before but had to leave early because of rain. The owner was getting ready to throw a party and wanted a lot of work done to prepare for it.
3) The owner yelled at the workers from the bedroom or bathroom to wait in the car while he put the dogs up. I think that shows that he clearly that it was not safe to leave the dogs out with the workers present. The owner was reportedly getting ready to take a shower, but I couldn’t find anything about whether or not he went ahead and took a shower before seeing to the safety of his workers.
4) After 10 to 15 minutes, one worker got out and started raking. Maybe he believed that the owner had put the dogs up — he certainly had plenty of time to do that by then. In additon, the man’s wife came into view without the dogs. If I were in the same position, I would have thought that the dogs had been put up and I could get to work. In any event, the gardener who was mauled got out as well and got ready to work. I haven’t seen anything about how long they were out of the car before the dogs attacked them.
5) The dogs then came around the corner and ran barking at the workers. This seems to be when they discovered that the dogs had not been put up as the owner had promised.
6) The gardener with the rake used it to try to keep the dogs away. Those trying to blame it on the gardeners describe it as him swinging it at the pups and hitting them. Other reports seem to indicate that he was using it to fend them off which, in my opinion, is a perfectly reasonable thing to do.
7) There is a question of whether one of the pups was injured by the rake. The animal control officer examined the dogs and found no indication of any wound after the attack. While he might easily have missed seeing a minor wound, if the worker was wildly hitting the dogs with the rake as suggested by some, there would have been a number of quite visible wounds that would probably have required emergency treatment by vetenarians. Therefore, I do not find the claims that he was repeatedly striking the dogs with the rake to be credible.
8) The big dog, Congo, attacked the other gardener who sought protection behind the homeowner’s wife. Putting the owner between you and an attacking dog is a reasonable thing to do. But in this case, she could not control the dogs — they completely ignored her efforts to stop them.
9) The worker fell down, but I don’t know why. Maybe he tripped on something. When the owner’s wife tried to help him up, she fell down on top of him and that’s when the dog began to maul the gardener. The pups joined in as well.
10) The attack went on for three minutes or longer. The dogs paid no attention to attempts by the owner’s wife to stop the attack. She clearly had no control at all of their actions.
11) The worker received 96 bites in the attack. This was far more than would have occured if the owner and his wife had sufficient control of the dogs. I suspect this to be the main reason that the judge declared Congo to be a vicious dog.
12) The pups were not vaccinated for rabies in spite of being past the age that they probably should have had their first vaccinations. I haven’t found anything about whether Congo was vaccinated at all.
13) The gardner required 65 rabies shots. Post-exposure prophylaxis for rabies generally requires the vaccine to be injected into the wounds as well as into the arm. There may have been clusters of bites that only required one or two shots to cover several bites.
After everything is said and done, I think that it was an unprovoked attack on the gardeners exacerbated by the fact that the owners were unable to exert proper control over their dogs.
So what errors have I made in my understanding of the events?
Comment by eric — December 7, 2007 @ 11:32 pm
Thank you so much Eric for providing details to this story and not resulting to personal attacks(racism) or emotional appeals. The fact of the matter is that the dog mauled a person who was HIRED (even though he is an illegal- is the dogowner so poor that he has to hire illegals to do his gardening since they are cheaper?) to the property by the owner to do his gardening. He was a negligent owner by not securing and caring for his dogs and as a result, a poor man was vicously attacked for 3 minutes and received 96 bites. The dog should be euthanized immediately. If I lived in that neighborhood, I would not want Congo around at all if the owners were not able to control the dog and it viciously mauled someone for 3 MINUTES! What if the gardeners had stayed in the car and it had been a pack of neighborhood kids walking around the neighborhood?
Comment by Ally — January 6, 2008 @ 3:14 pm