Please Read

For all of you with aggressive and vicious dogs next door. Please read this story.

Those involved:
Me: Andrew
Fiancé: Methuse
Future Mother-in Law: Jessie
Pomeranian: Chewy
German Shepard: Shasta (oldest)
Schnauzer: Butch
Pit mix: Penny
Neighbor: Eric
Rottweiler: Unknown Name
Rottweiler/German Shepard Mix: Unknown

Sat 8/27/05: Methuse and I were out all afternoon showing property to Chris and Curtis starting at 11:30am. It was a really hot day. The temp gauge in my car showed that it was over 100 degrees practically all day. We end around 4:30pm where I return Methuse to her house so that she could pick me up on the way to a family function. Before Methuse and Jessie left, Methuse was going to put Chewy away in her kennel but cause of the intensity of the heat, she left her out. When Methuse and Jessie got to my house, I was still at Chris’s house going over the properties we just saw. I ended up showing two additional properties to Chris’s mother. So we ended up leaving to Jojo’s party around 6pm from my residence. It was just Methuse, Jessie and I in the car. Just passed 12am, we head back home. Methuse drops me off around 12:30am where we notice that my parents weren’t home. So I call Alice around 12:32am where she ends up arriving with Anthony. I get a call at 1:01am from Methuse where I was able to tell right away that something was wrong. She tells me that Chewy is dead. Confused and emotional distraught, I hurry to Chino to say my good-bye.

Penny, Butch and Shasta were placed in their kennels before I got to Chino. I didn’t know what happened to Chewy but for me at the time, it didn’t matter. She was already gone. When I get there, Methuse had already put Chewy into a pan where I notice my poor baby lying cold and still. I start looking at her wounds and notice a patch of flesh exposed. When I flipped her, there was a bloody patch. It was clear that she was mauled. It made my heart sink. We know it had already been a couple of hours since Chewy died cause there was already an ant trail. I brought Chewy inside to the garage where I placed her on top of the clothes dryer. I wanted Methuse to let each of the babies out to say their good byes. Butch was the first one into the garage. Right away we noticed how franticly she was looking for something. I guessed she could smell Chewy but she didn’t see her. When I called Butch, I brought Chewy down. Butch spent about 3 minutes smelling Chewy all around. I was sitting on the floor next to Chewy. When Butch was finished, she came over and placed her head on my shoulder and I gave her a hug. She still seemed a bit nervous but it was not as bad as the first time she came into the garage. She seemed at peace. Penny was next. When she came in, Chewy was already on the floor. Penny also was acting a bit strange. She didn’t go to Chewy at all. She came into my lap and circled a couple before she curled up. That was strange cause normally she just wants a belly rub. I kept pushing her to say her good bye. Penny only spent a few short seconds smelling Chewy before returning back to my lap. Shasta was last. We noticed right away that she had a limp and that threw up the red flags for me. One dog is dead and another one is injured. I knew there was another dog involved. Right away we rush to get the video camera and a camera to start documenting Chewy’s wounds. We also called Chino PD so they can start the report and documentation process. Within 20 minutes, Officer Nick Byrd shows up. I explain everything that happened that night. He took the information down and told us to get a hold of the human society. So we did and I had to explain the situation to the rep on the phone. He told me that a Humane Officer will be here between 7:30 to 8 am. By this time, it was already 3am. Before I fell asleep, I went out to the back to see if there was evidence that I could document. When I get to the back half of the yard, I notice a large hole between the neighbor’s property and our property. The rottweiler showed up a few seconds later and started barking at me. So I headed back in. Another strange thing was, Eric didn’t have any of his lights on which made me suspicious. He usually has his Christmas lights or the porch light on. Tonight, there was nothing. It was like no one was even home. We put Chewy

Sun 8/28/05: In the morning, 8am passed and no one showed up from the Humane Society. Jessie didn’t waste any time calling them. They said they didn’t know when someone would be down. So instead of waiting, we decided to take Chewy and Shasta to the Emergency Vet in Upland cause it was Sunday. When we get there, the assistants take Chewy into another room for an autopsy. We waited for 30 minutes before they called in Shasta. Shasta had obvious swelling on her front forearm. She got x-rays and a shot of antibiotics. We got there around 8:30am and didn’t leave til close to 1pm.

When we get home, Jessie went to talk to Mr. Morales to see if he heard anything unusual the night before but he didn’t. He lives across a very busy street and it may have been difficult to have heard much in his home. A couple of hours later, the humane officer shows up. Derrick (the officer) had already spoken to the Eric (the neighbor). Derrick seemed very biased from the moment he walked through the door. He basically said there was nothing that he could do since we did not see the rottweiler killing Chewy, although it was pretty obvious. It got pretty emotional inside with Jessie explaining her pain. When I pulled Derrick outside, we talked about the situation. He even felt that it was the dogs next door but it was going to be difficult to convict. He also told me that he got to pet the dogs next door and they did not “seem” violent cause he pet them. I asked him if the owner was present and he said yes. I said why don’t you come over on our side where the owner isn’t around and you can tell me how friendly you think that dog is and he just put it off. He also said that there was no hole in the backyard although I documented it that very morning. When I asked him if he walked the entire yard back to the wall, he said he did. He also told us that Eric supposedly was outside hosting a BBQ until 1:30am. This was obviously not the truth his Methuse found Chewy laying dead at 12:50am and the lights were all out next door. Derrick said he would take a report and he left. He did nothing. When Jessie went outside to double check on the hole, it was there just like it was in the morning. Derrick didn’t walk the entire line cause there is no way anyone could have missed it. The entire day I was very anxious since the only thing separating Eric’s yard from ours was a 4 foot chain link fence. I don’t know anything about this guy and don’t know what he is capable of doing.

Mon 8/29/05: Today a miracle happened. Methuse and I were out previewing property today from 4pm until 5:30pm in Phillips Ranch. When we got tired, we decided to head down to El Pollo Loco cause they have a good dessert section. I get a call at 5:45pm from Jessie who tells me that both the rottweiler and the rottweiler/german shepard mix are over in our yard. Jessie told me earlier that day, the mix dug his way into our yard. She got that documented. We hurry out of there where I start by calling Chino PD. The dispatcher told me that an officer and the humane society would be out there as well. We get there about 7-10 minutes later. When I rush out to the back, I see right away the rottweiler and the mix relaxing in the yard. When they see me, the rottweiler starts barking right away. The mix doesn’t seem to be an aggressor. I run back to the house and grab the video camera and start recording their presence. 10 minutes later, Humane Society Officer James Reynolds comes. He told me it was going to be tough cause there are two dogs and only one of him. He was the only officer working all 9 cities. In addition, I call over Mr Morales, who is very respected in the neighborhood, to please come and witness the whole order just in case we needed his testimony in court. He witnessed the entire ordeal from the kitceh. He captures the mix first and was not a challenge at all since the mix walked right up to James. The rottweiler was more difficult as he kept eluding capture. He kept running into a small caged area of the yard but James couldn’t get the gate closed fast enough. So I grabbed a rake so that when the rottweiler runs into the “cage”, I can close the door right away. We secure the gate where James was able to catch the rottweiler with his dog stick. James was an amazing, hard working and very passionate person who obviously cared for the work he was doing. He knew of the situation with Derrick the day before and apologized on his behalf over and over. Apparently Derrick doesn’t do his job correctly and James was always “cleaning” after him. Without the help of James, it would have been very difficult. James advised us to photograph the entire fence line so that we could use the information in court. I shot the yard with both film and digital cameras. The chain of events that helped capture the dogs, along with Officer James Reynolds was to be a miracle. I also had an appointment at 5pm today which got cancelled to Wednesday. If I were at the appointment it would have been difficult for me to have made it out to Chino in the time that I did. Chewy’s death was not in vain. We will bring justice to her death and this story continues….

Tue 8/30/05: We just found out today that Eric listed his house. It just came onto the market. It's a bit of a relief but at the same time, this guy thinks that moving away will solve his problem. I guess we will see him in court.

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