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.”

(Have to make a comment here - this is utter BS!! Feeding a dog a raw diet does not breed aggression!! Anyone who knows anything about dogs know that they are natural carnivores and a raw diet is very healthy for them! I have two ESS and they are the sweetest most gentle dogs you can imagine and they are both on raw and even my vet says it is a wonderful diet!)

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.’”