A family moved out of their foreclosed home in Los Angeles leaving a dog in the house and another in the garage. Neighbors heard them crying and called AC for help. AC refused to enter the home:
“Possibility the people could come back and then they could turn this around and sue the city,” explained Animal Services Officer Hoang Dinh.
The city is required to give a written warning to the owners before entering the home or removing the dogs.
A man named Hans Peterson went into the home and rescued the dog inside. As he was walking out, he was arrested for “interfering” with AC.
So are you on Team Hans or Team No Government Entry to Private Property?
Good Job Hans. I would have done the same thing. The beaurocrats are so wrapped up in their own self preservation that they don’t know if it’s night or day.
Keep up the good work all you animal lovers
“Never, never be afraid to do what’s right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society’s punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way.”
— Martin Luther King Jr.
TEAM HANS!
Great quote, Clarice!
Something like this happened recently with a rescue I work with. A neighbor knew of a dog abandoned for two weeks in a garage. He had been dropping food & water in for the dog. No one came back for the dog so he broke in and freed the dog. As far as I know the law isnt’ interfering as the owner is now in jail for reasons unrelated to his neglect of his pets.
While I am definitely Team Hans, he could have been a little sharper about how he handled the situation. Wait for the chaos to die down and AC to leave instead of trying to be the hero on the 5 o’clock news–he could have gotten the dog(s) out without anyone being the wiser and/or getting hauled off in the process…
Bureaucracy at its finest. LA County continues to lead the pack in animal welfare stupidity.
Yes, this is insane. Or Los Angeles. Same thing.
I’m Team Hans, too, and I also agree he could have been a little more discrete which would have helped him succeed in freeing Taz as well.
But… Even if AC needs to give the owners written notice and the opportunity to respond, they could have taken both dogs out of the heat and into custody or let the dogs go to a rescue where they’re being cared for properly rather than stay in an abandoned home without food or water.
There’s no “animal welfare” in their job descriptions as far as I can tell.
Hmmm, why is it okay to bust into people’s homes without a warrant and take all animals when there is a chance of big publicity and bigger donations and even bigger sales of the dogs?
AC had left food/water for the dog and were coming back the next day to check if the owner had complied.
The article at the link states:
“L.A. Animal Services came with food and water, but they didn’t enter the home.”
From that, I take it the dogs would be unable to access any food and water brought by AC since the dogs were inside the home (and one in the garage). Is there another article that contradicts this claim that AC did not enter the home?
In the video accompanying the article, an officer is seen pushing a bowl under the garage door for one dog, and one through a window for the other.
Hans heart was in the right place, but I agree he handled it poorly. If the dogs did have water for one more day, why not wait another 24 hours and see if AC follows through? At least wait until they leave before rescuing them.
Thanks, I wasn’t able to watch the video. Still, I’m not sure that slipping a bowl under a door allows for a reasonable assessment of whether the dogs were in imminent danger due to dehydration or what have you. Were they able to get to those bowls? Would the contents of those bowls be sufficient to sustain them in their present state for another 24 hours? Were they eating a box of rat poison out of desperation? Chewing at the electrical outlets due to severe stress? I don’t know the answers to these questions but I wonder if AC (or anyone else) did.
Why does there seem to be nothing in between the twin poles of stupid this and stupid that?
Okay, I’ll play devil’s advocate since everyone is in agreement so far!
First of all – WHO MADE THE RULE/LAW THAT AC CANNOT ENTER A HOME WHEN AN ANIMAL IS IN IMMINENT DANGER?!! What is the definition of imminent danger, and is AC aware of the definition?
Second – What effect does Hero Hans have on this criminal case? I ask because of an incident somewhat similar a few years back (google – Steve Crosley; Youngstown OH; High Caliber K-9; Nitro foundation). Because an animal welfare league handled the ‘bust’ inappropriately and without a search warrant (not to mention contacted the local media to be there filming dead dogs), the guy almost WALKED.
I can’t really make more argument than that – because as Liz said — if Hans would’ve just done what needed done and kept quiet, this wouldn’t be a matter of debate today. Not saying that I have ever done anything like that..ahemmm…but if I would, I would’ve been a helluva alot smarter/quieter about it! ;-)