Judge orders shepherd destroyed after vicious
attack
Thursday, November 08, 2007
BY LINDA STEIN
PRINCETON TOWNSHIP -- A family whose beloved German
shepherd faces death for having led a dog attack on a
landscaper is devastated by the news but vows to continue
to fight to save him.
"He needs to come home," said Guy James, the Princeton
homeowner who managed to call his dogs off the landscaper,
but only after the worker was severely mauled in the June 5
attack.
"He's innocent. He did nothing more than protect my
wife. He never bit anyone until she was grabbed and pulled
to the ground," James said.
Congo has been ruled vicious by a municipal judge and
ordered put down.
"As a family, it's destroyed our way of living," said
James, 46. "We're just consumed with the whole thing."
The landscaper, Giovanni Rivera, has won a $250,000
insurance settlement as a result of serious injuries he
sustained in the attack, which occurred when he and others
disobeyed instructions from James not to get out of their
car until Congo and several other dogs on the property
could be sequestered for safety.
Rivera, a Trenton man, was on the 10-acre, fenced
property on Stuart Road to do yard work. The landscaping
crew had arrived before 7 a.m., about an hour before they
were expected.
James, who was about to take a shower, called out a
window to them in Spanish, telling them to get back in
their car and wait because the dogs were in the backyard
being fed.
While the dogs, two 2 1/2-year-old German shepherds and
their four 6-month-old puppies, had not had problems with
people on the property before, James said in an interview
that he didn't want them to interfere with the workers.
Also, he wanted the workers to wait until he was dressed so
that he could tell them what to do, he said.
Instead, Rivera and another worker got out of the car
after a few minutes and the dogs began to bark. That worker
began to hit the dogs with a metal rake and Elizabeth
James, Guy James' wife, yelled for him to stop. Meanwhile,
Rivera, who was afraid of the dogs, grabbed her from behind
and pulled her to the ground, causing her to scream. At
that point Congo began to bite and scratch Rivera and some
of the puppies joined in.
"The whole thing was pretty terrifying," Elizabeth James
said. "You can't imagine. I was scared. It happened
extremely fast. I didn't have time to think."
Meanwhile, her 8-year-old son, Ben, ran into the house
to get his father. Moments later, Guy James hurried out and
called off the dogs.
Rivera, who was treated for bites at a local hospital,
settled with the couple's insurance carrier for the
$250,000, Guy James said.
Rivera's lawyer, Kevin Riechelson, said his client has
scars from the dog bites and scratches that may be
permanent on his arms, legs and torso. Rivera still suffers
from numbness in his leg but is able to walk.
"He had a really deep wound on his right thigh,"
Riechelson said. "Luckily, his face wasn't touched."
In addition to the $250,000 settlement, the Jameses'
insurer agreed to pay medical bills and worker's
compensation claims for Rivera, Riechelson said.
The Jameses' children, especially Ben who witnessed the
attack, have been "crying nonstop," Elizabeth James said.
"They've been on an emotional rollercoaster." Their dog has
been placed in a shelter while the court process plays
out.
Hannah James, 11, wrote a letter to Judge Russell Annich
Jr. saying in part, "I am so upset seeing my dog locked up
in jail for doing his job. When my friends are over they
play with and around Congo and have no problems. I want you
to know that this is coming from my heart and I mean it
with all my heart and soul. Actually, my broken heart. We
will never ever forget this for the rest of our lives. You
have made the wrong decision in my eyes."
And Congo, who is being held at Save a Friend of
Homeless Animals, is depressed and anxious, Guy James said.
He now has to be hand-fed or he will not eat.
Meanwhile, James' lawyer, Robert Lytle, argued at a
hearing in Municipal Court that the attack had been
provoked and under New Jersey law, the dogs had a right to
protect themselves and their owner.
But some, including municipal prosecutor Kim Otis, argue
that the Jameses should have had control over the dogs and
were negligent.
Indeed, Judge Annich found that "the prevailing
circumstances did not constitute provocation and that the
attack upon Mr. Rivera, initiated by Congo and subsequently
by the other dogs present, continuing unabated for three
minutes, was a response grossly disproportionate to the
prevailing situation."
Guy James pointed to testimony from dog behavior expert
and University of Pennsylvania professor Ilana Reisner, who
said that in her professional opinion James' dogs were
"clearly provoked."
"Based on these threats (unfamiliar individuals,
perceived threatening position, the attack on the puppies
with a metal rake, grabbing the owner from behind and
pulling to the ground) the dogs were compelled to defend
themselves and their owner," Reisner wrote.
"I am so sorry for what happened but it was not out of
viciousness," Guy James said. "This was a provoked attack
and any dog would protect its owner in the same manner. I
can't imagine that any dog -- who was beat with a rake,
hard enough to cause bloody gashes, and then had its owner
grabbed from behind -- would walk away without action."
Guy James also garnered statements from several people
who had been on his property and attested to the dogs'
friendly behavior, including John Pettenati, the township
building inspector. In fact Pettenati nicknamed them "the
happy dogs" because they were so pleasant.
Guy James said that while he and his family were waiting
for their house to be finished they lived for several
months at a hotel. During that time Congo and his mate,
Lucia, interacted with maids and others and never caused a
problem, he said.
James also sent Congo and Lucia to the American Dog
School in Denver for obedience training. James stressed
that the dogs were trained for obedience, not as guard
dogs. The four puppies are currently at that school, he
said. Five of their siblings were adopted and one of those
dogs is being trained to be a police dog in Pennsylvania,
Guy James said.
Meanwhile, an article in The Times and reports in other
media outlets have spurred the public into action on
Congo's behalf.
Kat McAfee of the Coalition for Action in the Interests
of Animals has organized the Coalition to Free Congo. She
expects hundreds to come to a rally Tuesday at 10 a.m. at
the municipal building at 400 Witherspoon St. in
Princeton.
McAfee said they hope to save Congo's life by "bringing
pressure on the powers that be."
Annich is expected to place his ruling on the record
Tuesday afternoon.
For his part, Guy James said he has received thousands
of letters and e-mails and thanked those who have offered
their support.
"Congo is a fantastic family pet who is loved by
everyone we know and many we don't," James said. "We will
not let this rest for the sake of all dogs and their
owners, and most of all, our family and Congo."
Guy James plans to appeal Annich's ruling to Superior
Court.
"We will fight with all our love and support from
friends and strangers until he is back with us," he
said.
