It’s been a while since this blog has been updated but this story is definitely worth sharing. Many of you who are regular readers of the DallasDogLife Facebook page know that I have been following the story of Mr. James “Jim” Sak and his service dog, Snickers.
Mr. Sak is a retired Chicago police officer and a Vietnam War veteran. A few years ago, Mr. Sak suffered a stroke which left him disabled, and has been living with a registered and certified service dog named Snickers to help him regain some independence. Snickers helps Mr. Sak by preventing falls, steadying him when he stands, and alerting his wife Peggy if Jim needs more assistance than Snickers can provide.
Jim and Peggy moved to Peggy’s hometown of Aurelia, IA so that Peggy could help care for her ailing 87-year-old mother. After they arrived, a group of Mr. Saks’ new “neighbors” circulated a petition to force him to get rid of his service dog.
Had Snickers gotten lose? Had he snarled at someone? Had he chased a child? Did he dig up a flower bed? Did he lick a deer on the head?
No, Snickers had only done one thing since arriving in Aurelia, and that was help care for Mr. Sak. His “crime” was being born a Pit Bull.
The Aurelia City Council arrogantly decided that their town’s irrational fear and prejudice was more powerful than federal law, which protects disabled Americans like Mr. Sak and allows them to have their service dogs not only in their homes, but in any public place they wish to go.
Mr. Sak had not brought Snickers into an elementary school or a McDonald’s. Mr. Sak can barely walk himself, much less bring Snickers where he might accidentally wag his tail at someone, like a park. Snickers was inside Mr. Sak’s apartment, waiting to help Jim make it through the day.
Snickers was banned from Aurelia’s city limits, and was initially being boarded at veterinary clinic. Later, Snickers was moved to a foster home so he would be more comfortable, but he still suffered from stress. Hives broke out on Snickers’ underbelly and he began to lose his hair. And Mr. Sak was heartbroken as well.
Heartbreak was not Mr. Sak’s only injury; since being deprived of Snickers’ service, Mr. Sak fell twice and required emergency medical care.
Luckily, the Animal Farm Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to “securing equal treatment and opportunity for ‘pit bull’ dogs,” came to Mr. Sak’s aid. They brought national attention to this criminal act of the Aurelia City Council and paid for legal representation to help Jim and Peggy get their much-needed service dog back home where he belongs.
Today, the Iowa Northern District Court heard the case of “Sak et al v. City of Aurelia, Iowa” and the judge ordered a preliminary injunction to reverse the Aurelia City Council’s ruling while the lawsuit is pending. Snickers will be coming home!
However, this is a temporary order; Snickers isn’t out of the woods yet. The lawsuit against the City of Aurelia is still ongoing; but in the meantime, Snickers and Mr. Sak will be reunited.
While this case was pretty much cut-and-dry (seriously, how does the City of Aurelia’s attorney have the arrogance to think he can defend their criminal actions against a disabled veteran?) it does bring national attention to the outrageous foolishness of Breed Specific Legislation (BSL), which prohibits owning dogs of a certain breed.
BSL does not work. It’s not only stupid, it’s harmful - and now we have proof.
While I hate that Jim, Peggy, and Snickers have to go through this ordeal, I am glad for the attention that it’s brought to this idiotic practice of accepted prejudice.
Thank you, Mr. Sak, for being the voice for Pit Bulls like Snickers who may not have a service dog vest but are wonderful dogs just the same. We salute you.
Photos taken from the Animal Farm Foundation Facebook Page.
On Saturday night, I was driving home when all of a sudden, several cars screeched to a halt and swerved in front of me. I was able to stop in time to see that a medium sized dog was darting in and out of traffic. I pulled over into the driveway to a locked gate in front of the Fossil building at Central Expressway and Spring Valley (just next to Chili’s) and tried to see if the dog was OK. I had just stopped for food so I grabbed my Chipotle Burrito Bowl - always a favorite among stray dogs - and tried to get close to the dog.
This stray was a very skinny and skittish female hound, I think, with lesions and bruising on her side. She may have already been hit by a car. She barked at me fearfully, so I kept my distance and put some rice down on the ground for her. She stopped barking long enough to eat the rice and I backed up a little bit to see if she would follow me. She did, and I led her almost all the way to my car. A little rice, a lot of barking, some treats and food samples I’d picked up at the City Wide Pet Day earlier…but she kept barking and wouldn’t let me more than a foot near her. I sat down and looked away, and she came close enough to sniff my shoes and jeans. She looked at me one last time, and turned and trotted off into the night.
The next day, I went back with a gallon of water and more food, and in the light of day saw that several food and water dishes had been put out for her. I filled all the dishes with water and saw that someone had also dumped about a pound of food for her. So I felt comfortable in knowing she had a full belly, but scared that she will dart into traffic.
She seems to only come out at night. I’m calling her Fossil Dog, since she seems to live within the gates of Fossil headquarters. I’ll keep going back to see if I can get her to trust me. The problem is, I have a house full of dogs and CAN NOT take in another. If anyone is willing to foster, please let me know. Thanks!
Remember the movie, Best in Show? It was a hysterical mockumentary about the world of dog shows and its participants, starring Parker Posey, Eugene Levy, Ed Begley Jr, Jane Lynch, and many more. Even before I was dog-obsessed, I loved this movie for its ridiculous scenarios - when Beatrice loses her Bizzy Bee, when Harlan Pepper starts naming all the different types of nuts, when Rhapsody’s handler goes around greeting all the other dogs and trying to intimidate their owners…it’s just hilarious.
Well, now there’s a real documentary called Worst in Show that chronicles the annual “World’s Ugliest Dog Contest” held every year in Petaluma, California. Co-directors John Beck and Don Lewis followed four contestants as they prepared for the contest and then followed the eventual winner, who has a very touching story about animal rescue. They also show the competition between the contestants, which makes for some very funny footage.
We are so lucky to have this film screen HERE IN DALLAS on Thursday, June 16 at the Angelika Film Center. Tickets are $15 and benefit the SPCA of Texas. This is a family-friendly film so all ages are welcome. Please purchase your tickets soon - the screenings at the San Francisco Indie Fest and the Oxford, MS Film Festival were all sold out.
Check out the trailer:
The Angelika Film Center is located at Mockingbird Station, 5321 East Mockingbird Lane in Dallas. Hope to see you there!
On May 15, Sambuca in Uptown was taken over by dog-lovers from around our community. We were there for several reasons - to raise money for Metroplex Animal Coalition and Dallas Animal Advocates, to bid on wonderful silent auction prizes, to socialize with fellow dog lovers, and most importantly, to honor four men who have shown compassion for the homeless and neglected animals in our community.
The first honoree was Interim Shelter Manager at Dallas Animal Services, Lt. Scott Walton. I personally witnessed Scott’s commitment to helping Dallas animals when I reported an abandoned, tethered pit bull in Pleasant Grove. While the dog ultimately was returned to his owners, the incident brought awareness to the community about the best way to help an animal and it put the owners on notice that DAS is watching them. Similar stories are the reason that Scott was chosen to be recognized for the work he has done at Dallas Animal Services. Hopefully that work will continue with the new Shelter Manager, Jody Jones.
The next honoree was my friend, Jean-Paul (J.P.) Bonnelly. Again, I’ve had the pleasure and privilege of assisting this amazing dog-catcher several times. When there is a stray dog that police or neighbors swear cannot be captured, J.P. is the person to call. He’s helped several dogs, including many that were very pregnant, get off the street and into safe homes. He’s hand-fed many litters when their moms couldn’t produce enough milk. And…he has a day job! All of this volunteer work is in addition to his “real” job and running his training business, The Republic of Dog. In short, J.P. is awesome.
Next, we met Robert Hayden, who was honored for his role in saving a beautiful German Shepherd who had been tethered and was hanging herself. He stopped, got the dog back over her fence safely, but could not just let the incident go. The owner, who had been cited for tethering their dog, chose to surrender her dog rather than pay the fine. Robert checked back at the shelter and when he saw that the dog was there, he worked hard to get her out of the shelter and into a wonderful home. This is a great example of actually getting involved rather than watching from the sidelines when there is a dog who needs our help. Good job, Robert.
The final honoree was someone who is used to being in the spotlight. Richard Hunter, a local radio personality and nationally-known comedian, made the news when he adopted one of Michael Vick’s pit bulls who had been used as a bait dog. Mel was saved, but still bears the physical and emotional scars of living as a Vick bait dog. Richard brought public awareness to Vick’s crimes and to the City Council when our former mayor pro tem, Dwaine Caraway, awarded Michael Vick, a convicted felon, a ceremonial key to the City of Dallas during SuperBowl weekend. Richard’s publicity of the embarrassing event prompted the Dallas City Council to put stricter rules around city awards. Richard’s dedication to Mel and other abused dogs in our community are the reasons he was honored as a Real Man.
In addition to our local Real Men, we also met the models from the Real Men Neuter campaign. Attendees were able to have their photos taken with these Real Men against a green backdrop.
It was a great event, and I walked away with a hand-made SMU bird house that I won in the silent auction! Great times, and I can’t wait for next year’s version. Who will be the 2012 Real Men (who) Care?
I picked up so much free stuff! Great tote bags, hats, bag clips, free food and treat samples, dog food scoops, poop scoop bag dispensers, more treats, coupons…I made out like a bandit! Great seeing Tugg the Bull Terrier again as well. The location was perfect - nice park, stage, playground for kids, picnic tables, BATHROOMS, and a great view. I’m sure this event will grow in size every year. Congratulations to Faith Mitchell (the wonderful lady who is also fostering Stranger, who was having a great time today) for organizing the event. We’ll definitely be back next year!
Here are some photos of the event - I’m sorry they are a bit overexposed. Fun times!
I admit, until Linda Stowe, founder of DodgersList.com, contacted me about advertising on DallasDogLife, I had no idea what it was. But as I researched the website to see what they were all about, I realized that I had to spread the word about this great online resource!
(Note: some of the links in this article don’t load immediately for some reason, but you just have to refresh or hit “Enter” again and the content will load. Just didn’t want anyone to get frustrated and not really check out the site.)
DodgersList.com is a website devoted to support and education of Intervertebral Disc Disease (IVDD), which is common for dogs with really long spinal cords, like Dachshunds and sometimes Pekingese. The site is loaded with information, like Emergency FAQs and tips for prevention, as well as a slew of other literature on the subject of crate rest, success stories, supplements, and more. Oh, how I wish I’d known about DodgersList when Chewy (my Peke) had a ruptured disc in his spine. I had no idea that he was shaking because he was in pain (one of the signs of IVDD that requires an immediate trip to the vet). It was January when he was injured, and I thought he was just cold. I hate to think about how impatient I was when he refused to hop on and off the curbs when we would cross the streets on our walks. *shudder*
Luckily, Chewy was able to be treated using conservative methods and we did not have to have surgery, but other doggies aren’t so lucky. Linda created DodgersList to provide people with education and alternatives to euthanasia when they believe their dog will not have a good quality of life with IVDD.
If you own a Dachshund, you should really check out this website. They also offer a IVDD DVD for their Facebook group members. It includes:
• How to crate rest
• Treatment options from an IVDD knowledgeable vet
• Care tips
• Living with IVDD
The price for the DVD is ONLY $3.00 and includes postage. You can pay via credit card or PayPal at http://www.dodgerslist.com/store/DVDorder.htm. They also have an email Newsletter that provides additional information about IVDD.
Huge thanks to Linda Stowe for creating this site and helping Doxies and other dogs life pain-free, happy, healthy lives!
Mr. Sak is a retired Chicago police officer and a Vietnam War veteran. A few years ago, Mr. Sak suffered a stroke which left him disabled, and has been living with a registered and certified service dog named Snickers to help him regain some independence. Snickers helps Mr. Sak by preventing falls, steadying him when he stands, and alerting his wife Peggy if Jim needs more assistance than Snickers can provide.
Today, the Iowa Northern District Court heard the case of “Sak et al v. City of Aurelia, Iowa” and the judge ordered a preliminary injunction to reverse the Aurelia City Council’s ruling while the lawsuit is pending. Snickers will be coming home!
Well, now there’s a real documentary called 
DodgersList.com is a website devoted to support and education of 
