Saturday, Mar. 29, 2003
What's been happening, posted at 3:57 p.m.
Epiphany in Baltimore has moved to epiphanyinbaltimore.blogspot.com Last weekend, a trash collector entered our yard. I was not home. However, according to my roommmate and the next-door neighbor, he went around the house banging on the sides of it, shouting for us to come out. It's still unclear why.My roommate came down and accidentally let Holden out. My roommate screamed after him. Holden saw the intruder in the yard, ran to him, jumped on him, and made the intruder jump over the fence and tear his jeans.
The intruder called the police, and a police report for a dog bite was filed. My neighbor, who lives two doors down and is a doctor, came to the scene of the incident and examined the man, noting that the man was not bitten, just that his clothes had been torn on the fence. My roommate was told that someone from animal control would come to investigate.
When I returned on Monday from school, there were letters on my door informing me to phone animal control. I did immediately, got no answer, and then again on Tuesday morning. I left three messages on Tuesday and another one on Wednesday, before an animal control officer came on Wednesday night.
He took Holden.
It was heartwrenching. I argued with the man for a while, but he informed me that it was a $100 fine per day if I refused. So I called Holden over, he jumped into the van, and they carted him away with his blanket and squeaky toy. It was one of the saddest moments I've experienced, as sheltered as that may seem.
On Thursday, I called animal control three times. No response. In fact, still no response. I have in the meantime e-mailed the mayor and my congressman and spoken to the union lawyer about this. No one has given me any straight answers, and the city's Bite Coordinator - an evil woman with a heart of coal - has not returned my calls.
The discrepency is with Holden's rabies vaccination, and it cannot be proven that he did not need his until his 3rd birthday because the animal hospital that he goes to burned down. The paperwork I received from the SPCA clearly says he does not need a new shot until his 3rd birthday in June 2003, but they say the paperwork is erroneous and I'm shit out of luck.
The good news is that if all goes well, I get him back in ten days. The bad news is that it will cost me $252 to get him back, and I don't have that kind of money. And that I've been treated unfairly and lied to through this whole process. And that there was no investigation at all into the case, as Holden didn't even bite the man. Who was in the freaking yard! So, if I don't like a dog in my neighborhood who barks a lot, all I have to do is call in and say he bit me, and that will be that. No investigation required.
It really sucks, I really miss my dog, and I hate the city right now. So that's what's new. Probably not as bad as anyone thought it was, but my life feels a bit empty without the big guy around. I feel powerless and guilty about the situation, and that makes it even worse.