Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Pin It

A Whole Website Showing Brindi Was Already Well-Trained & Never Considered Dangerous


Here's an entire website I set up back in 2008 that shows that nobody ever thought Brindi was a dangerous dog going back to the start: Support Brindi!

There are letters from neighbors, friends, the local dog groomer, the local kennel, and even the mail carrier. They constitute abundant proof (as many were submitted to court and were not contradicted)  I had already trained Brindi before HRM seized her, and that I had trained her pretty darn well. I should hope so, because I put off the foundation work on my house for a year specifically to get Brindi to a point where I could take her anywhere on or off-leash and depend on her to behave well!! She is a fast learner and wants to please, but no dog trains itself. 

And even the incidents that occurred where she got loose accidentally and went after a dog nearing her territory - things HRM appears to have used as reasons to seize Brindi - in reality prove the opposite of dangerous, as she did so little harm or none at all each time. No sign of escalation.

If this wasn't the truth, HRM would have laid charges against me way before it took Brindi, and likely taken her way before July 2008; and, I would never have been able to save her life!! 

Support Brindi has been online for all these years on purpose, as a resource intended for the average local reporter and the average newsreader in the Halifax Regional Municipality, so they don't have to rely only on whatever story HRM tells.

At the time the letters on Support Brindi were written, I was a newcomer here. So nobody wrote their letter purely out of loyalty to me. They wrote because they knew Brindi and did not want the city to put her down. And they wrote expecting that the city would give due consideration to their letters, which, as it turns out, it didn't. 

Of course, it has to be said, HRM never officially deemed Brindi dangerous at any juncture - not when they took her in 2008, and not when they took her in 2010. And even not when a judge in 2010 "strongly recommended" to HRM that it should deem Brindi dangerous. Since the law didn't prevent the judge from doing this herself - it virtually allowed her to do anything - the fact that she didn't go ahead and deem Brindi dangerous speaks volumes.

No, despite everything the city and its prosecutors did to create the impression of "dangerousness", there was never an actual designation of dangerous. The judge in 2012 - ignoring the trainer and vet's opinions, and the trainer's proof of the extra training work I did with Brindi voluntarily after she was released in 2010 - did all she could to create that impression as well. But at no time was Brindi even remotely in the running for "dangerous".

Brindi can't be no longer considered something she never was considered. It's a lot like that famous question to a defendant, "When did you stop beating your wife?"

So for HRM and Christine Graham and whoever else to say at this late date, years and years later that "Brindi is no longer considered dangerous," as if it represents a sudden momentous and merciful finding, is doubly
incorrect. 

The story put out by the CBC and other media, that Brindi's disposition improved under the "care" of Christine Graham, and that Graham trained Brindi in obedience, is entirely untrue.

Check out Support Brindi! Read pound owner Hope Swinimer's letter of support!

There are other statements on this website attesting to Brindi's good nature, such as the sentencing statements from 2012:
Vet letter
Trainer's statement

2 comments:

  1. I've thought about Brindi every now and then since I first came across your story many years ago. I can't believe you still do not have her back in your home. Do I understand correctly that they are thinking, or have already, adopting her out to a new family? This whole story is just so sad and so ridiculous on their part. I'm so sorry for all you have gone through.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Are there any updates Francesca? I was following and sharing your story, but I haven't heard any news in quite awhile. I've been praying for you and Brindi.
    Robin

    ReplyDelete

Comments are moderated. Only users with Google accounts may post comments. Others may contact me via facebook.