Congo and friends.
Congo is an 85-pound German Shepherd who attacked an Honduran landscaper in Princeton. NJ after the illegal alien, fearing the dog, grabbed the wife and mother of the family to use her as a human shield. She understandably screamed, and Congo, appropriately, attacked. Congo has now been sentenced to death by a judge for the attack, and the illegal alien has received $250,000 in an insurance settlement. There is a growing “Save Congo” movement which focuses on pressuring New Jersey governor Corzine to pardon the dog. Here’s the story.
Immigration debate ignited after gardener mauled by dog in N.J.
A dog scheduled to be put down after mauling a gardener from Honduras has ignited a debate over immigration and dog owners’ rights in this university town.
The gardener, Giovanni Rivera, was attacked in June by a German shepherd named Congo and four other dogs at a Princeton home where he did landscaping. Charges were filed against the family who owned the dogs, and Rivera received an insurance settlement of $250,000…
James [the owner of Congo] contends the men showed up early when the dogs were eating, and disregarded his calls for them to stay in their vehicle. He said Congo attacked Rivera after the panicked gardener grabbed his wife from behind and pulled her down, causing her to scream.
Rivera’s lawyer, Kevin S. Riechelson, said his client, who is still in New Jersey, did not want to speak about the incident because he was scared after the public outcry over the decision to put the dog down. But Riechelson and Kim Otis, the prosecutor who handled the case, described the attack as unprovoked, saying Rivera never pulled Elizabeth James down to the ground.
Notice the specificity of the never pulled her “down to the ground.” The fact of the matter is, while they may not have ended up on the ground, Rivera has admitted to grabbing Mrs. James in an attempt to protect himself from the dog, who had not attacked him. Rivera was simply afraid of the dog so he decided to use Mrs. James as his personal Human Shield.
If you would like to support Congo, contact New Jersey Governor John Corzine’s office at 609-292-6000 and encourage a pardon. There is also an email form at his official website.
Related Link:
ABC News: Dog Attack on Illegal Immigrant Ignites Immigration Debate In N.J. Town
Save Congo! The dog was brave and did his duty to try to protect his onwers! He wasn’t wandering the streets attacking people and kids for no reason!
Congo should be left alone! If that was my wife – I would reward Congo Hugely!!! Any person or animal, who fears injury to my wife or family, and risks injury or death to themselves to save them… Would most definitely be rewarded!!!
The part about the man being illegal – while bears mentioning – should not factor into anything other then the IRS getting their share of the tax money. $250,000 is a lot of money! I would like to hear how many weeks he spent in the hospital to get that amount…
Where is the information on the clueless idiot judge that passed this ignorant decision down? I suggest we look into what sort of person makes an ass-backward decision like this and do what we can to get them removed from the bench ASAP.
Just one more reason why I like animals more than people.
Congo just did what a good dog (particularly a German Shepherd) is supposed to do.
When I was a kid, someone tried to break into my grandmother’s apartment through the bathroom window but apparently didn’t get very far. We came home to find blood all over the bathroom and Soul, the German/Belgian Shepherd, waiting for us.
I just love shepherds.
Not long after my first wife and I bought a house, we got a dog; near as we could tell, half lab or weimeraner and half spaniel. Smart, friendly, and very protective. Damn near bit a meter reader one day because the idiot
A: didn’t like him barking and shook a big stick at him and
B: when wife went out to hold dog, idiot shook the stick again. Which made dog think idiot was threatening alpha female.
I had to run out and tackle the dog to keep him from using the idiot for a chew toy. Never a word about the dog, but the electric co. heard from us.
Yes, we DID tell him he was a good dog.
Congo is obviously a racist cracker redneck and needs to go to rehab as soon as he makes a full apology to the “BullHorn Bros.NOT!!
How do you spell “BASSACKWARDS”?
Is there any other info around about this? I’m asking because the report that is linked above says that it isn’t known whether that gardener was here illegally or not. I’m glad I read the whole article because I almost sent a nasty-gram to Corzine about this and I would have looked rather stupid if the guy was here legally.
Openminded_conserv — It does matter a great deal whether this guy was here illegally or not. If he wasn’t here legally, he had no business being at that house. It would be like a burglar coming to your house in the middle of the night, tripping over something in the dark, then suing you for damages.
[He is an illegal alien. See the ABC link in the main post.–ed.]
Peterfny, I would respectfully suggest that one can’t pass judgments like that without actually knowing what the law on the subject is. Hard cases make bad law and vice-versa: just because a legal decision causes a result one dislikes does not make it even necessarily wrong, let alone “idiotic” or grounds for judicial discipline.
Why do the news stories make a point of mentioning the guy who got bitten was an ‘illegal’? Does that fact make a difference to the story? Does that make the dog’s bite somehow ‘worse’?
What is this world coming to?
Dog bites man. Why is this a news story at all?
Ok- having said that, I did follow the link, and sent Corzine an email. Partly for Congo, but mostly because I think Corzine is a scumbag, a pol so crooked he needs a team of personal valets to screw his pants on in the morning.
DAVE J: You are correct. If the law requires that a dog be put down for protecting one of its owners, then the law is an ASS, and the Judge is not idiotic, just lacking in sufficient imagination to find a way for it not to apply here. So, either the law is an ASS, as are those who passed it, or the judge is an unimaginative moron who is too far gone to still be on the bench.
Hell, the next thing you know those crybaby girly man liberals will be trying to take away a person’s right to defend his home and family.
By the way, what scumbag insurance company threw its policyholders’ money around like that? It should be identified by name so people can avoid buying policies from it.
And what about that prosecutor. Another one like the jerk who prosecuted the border agents–kiss the ass of the illegal who shouldn’t be here at all, and kill or imprison those who do their jobs, dog or man. Has nobody on the East Coast ever heard of prosecutorial discretion, or used it?
God I’m glad I don’t live in a coastal or border state.
Thanks for letting us know about this, Tammy. I’ve emailed Corzine & will call him tomorrow.
i remember a few years back, i was answering a house alarm call for the nypd when the owner’s shepherd lunged at one of the cops next to me. the dog was loose and the owners were not home and we were a few feet onto the dog’s ‘territory’. the cop jumped back as i pulled my gun and pointed it at the dog. the shepherd stopped right at the end of it’s property line and i knew exactly what was going through the pup’s mind. i’m glad i didn’t shoot…………another time, i responded to a burglary and as i entered the open house i saw blood all over the living room. the owner’s shepherd had confronted the two armed perps and was gunned down protecting it’s family’s home. good damn dog. he didn’t have a chance………save this pup- arno
I agree with the comments posted here, I do think this whole thing is a travesty. The e-mail and phone call were made, and I wondered how many contacts the Governor’s office will get over this.
Does anyone have a lead on the insurance company that did kowtow to the illegal? I might need to change my carrier.
As to the judge and prosecutor, personally I think there are a pair that do definately need to be thrown out of office and look for work as broom counters on a road crew, they are obviously not qualified for the positions they now hold.
DaveJ – to respectfully disagree (strongly), bad judicial decisions make bad law. Awarding a monetary settlement to someone who shouldn’t even be working in this country for basically causing the indecent in the first place in inexcusable malfeasance – never mind the added insult of putting a dog down for doing what it’s supposed to do.
We don’t HAVE to make ‘justifiable excuses’ for horrible jurisprudence: it is what it is.
St. Thor, I would certainly agree that it’s hardly a stretch of the imagination to think that the New Jersey legislature is a bunch of corrupt slimeballs and their associated useful idiots and pliant toadies. Indeed, as a former legislative staffer (not in NJ, thank God), I would be quite surprised if that were NOT the case.
Peterfny, so basically you’re saying that even if black-letter statutory text required this result (which neither of knows, but assuming that for the sake of argument), the judge should have ignored or creatively construed his way around it? I thought we were opposed to judicial activism. And if the law allows for executive clemency, then angry letters to the Governor demanding it are indeed the most appropriate remedy.