People Empowered to Protect a Dog With No Voice Failed in Every Way
Opinion Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author/producer’s interpretation of facts and data.
By Deborah Pangle
The battle to save a dog chained for 10 years in Ossining ended in a denial and rejection in Westchester County Court on Jan. 23 to have her rescued from her owner and placed in a loving home.
While I successfully rescued and saved hundreds of cats and dogs, my team of four fierce animal advocates could not save a dog named Luna after a six-and-a-half-year fight.
You should feel shocked, angry or in disbelief. Indeed, this took place in the evolved, affluent county of Westchester.
What unfolded in our journey to rescue Luna, a Siberian Husky, was an abject failure of people in power who we entrust to protect everyone in our community, including our pets.
We were thwarted by the Ossining police and the SPCA of Westchester at every juncture. It was shocking and terrifying to experience this threat to justice in my own community of 25 years.
I was told in writing by Ossining Police Chief Kevin Sylvester in a June 6, 2020, e-mail, in what I took as a threatening message, that my monitoring of Luna’s condition from outside the owner’s home “could violate a number of criminal statutes.”
When I believe my civil rights were violated by Ossining police, I reached out to the Westchester County District Attorney’s office. I submitted a formal complaint to the Ossining Police Commission as well. The more we protested and challenged the inaction by village police and the SPCA of Westchester, the less they did to help Luna.
Our appearance at meetings and protests appeared on News 12, LoHud.com and The Examiner. Our documentation of six years of videos and photos were evidence of serious violations of New York State and local Ossining tether laws. The only protection was for the dog’s owner, a municipal employee in Ossining. Connect the dots, and The Cat Squad concludes there was never any honest attempt at protection or acknowledgement of Luna’s suffering.
Luna was chained every day and night outside. Chained alone in a 2018 nor’easter, in the rain and wind. Chained in extreme cold at 17 degrees. Chained in 96-degree heat during a heat advisory, lying on hot cement, which was documented in photos and videos. Worried neighbors called police and the SPCA, only to be rebuffed.
We raised more than $20,000 to bring our case to court. We marched in the streets. We called out for help. Our voice for Luna was loud, determined and unwavering. Luna’s voice was heard but the heart and soul of our justice system did not listen. Luna lost her right to be free, loved and protected.
Luna’s story is a microcosm of dogs chained and suffering with no protection. Justice and truth lost. Animal rights and freedom lost. Our humanity and respect for God’s creatures who contribute to our lives lost. The winner was man’s rights versus animal rights. The world of animal rights finds all of you guilty of animal cruelty.
The story represents a deeper, more serious violation of the soul of our society and its leaders. Your silence will not protect you. You will answer someday for the suffering of those who have no voice.
Deborah Pangle was a longtime Briarcliff Manor resident and founder of The Cat Squad, an animal rights group.
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