Thanks for joining me Over Coffee
A writer by passion and profession, I've been writing since I was old enough to know how, so establishing a weblog
seemed a natural progression. By adding a blog to my site, I can speak about my passions and life, share my writing, art
and photos, and comment on current events.
Monday, January 20, 2003
You may remember the story of Hope (updated here). Well, here is a message from Kimberly Capella-Gowland, the Executive Director of Gulf Coast Doberman Rescue with more details about the case.
**PERMISSION TO CROSS POST GRANTED** [Edited for Brevity]
...I would like to sincerely thank everyone who took the time to send faxes, make phone calls, send e-mails and cross-post in regard to "Hope's" pending trial. I will post all of the specific details later, but WE WON!!!!! [Edited sentencing details, see this entry.]
The prosecutor suggested lowering the $1,000 fine to $500 as he did not want the city to get all of the money, he wanted to make sure GCDR was reimbursed. For those of you adding, this will be $500 to the city, $803.57 to Gulf Coast Doberman Rescue and $548.50 to Dr. Teresa Gernon for loss of work.
...She had owned "Hope" since she was a puppy. She claims she "fed the dog half a soup pot of food daily". The other Doberman "had died around Thanksgiving, but because it was cold she had not begun to decompose yet." The judge was enraged...
The stack of faxes and amount of phone calls was brought up by the judge in court. They reported to have a 3" pile at each location. All this even with them turning off their fax machines Monday!!
GCDR has now posted photos from the day Hope was confiscated. These are graphic in nature -- so be forewarned and consider carefully before clicking on the link. Still, I think it is important for people to see these types of photos to get an idea of just what is being talked about...this is not a slightly underweight dog. This is not a little negligence or an accident -- no one could mistakenly think this dog was fine or healthy. This is animal abuse, plain and simple. It is cruel and ugly and needs to be brought into the light.
