“Yes dear, someone’s turned the light out,
put the pieces out of touch.
Do we now try lighting candles?
Does it really matter quite that much?”
– author unknown

These are the words from a poem I read in high school. I can still remember them clearly thirty-some years later because I added music to them. Throughout high school and college, I played a LOT of guitar. But it’s not like Kevin and I got (m)any requests to play this “song” — it’s just four lines long. Maybe the shortest song in song history?

But I have never forgotten the words.

The poem comes to me in moments where a big decision needs to be made as a way for me to check my reasons for my decision. “Does it really matter quite that much?”

Francesca has likely never heard this poem… and definitely would have never considered that last line when Brindi was seized. Rather she immediately started lighting candles… everywhere she could. And over time, those candles have spread around the world creating an amazing lightfulness of support.

From those far-flung candles come letters and emails and phone calls. They offer support and sustained hope; they put forth wisdoms and tears and wonderful stories. By their light, she is better able to see her way.

They are the stuff that makes the darker days easier when the winds in Halifax blow down Francesca’s own flame.

So here on this Friday afternoon, I send out a “thank you” to all the wonderful people EVERYWHERE who have stayed the course with Francesca and Brindi on this incredible journey.

You are an astonishing lot!

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Francesca makes her pre-sentencing statement before the judge on April 16, 2010.

Please call and/or email the contacts below. Do it often and do it regularly.,

Ask them to let Francesca visit Brindi. And ask them to negotiate a resolution to this craziness so Brindi can go home to Francesca.

This morning, I spent a little extra time in bed snuggling. This time it was with a cat named Sebastian, and two dogs, Bosco and BooGee. This time, it was because I did not feel like starting the day.

I thought of Paketo. She had the funniest little quirk to her meow. She would open her mouth to speak, but there was a time delay between when she opened her mouth and when her voice actually came out. Maybe a half second.

And I thought of Francesca. Our lives seem to mirror each other’s right now. She, too, is unable to see her beloved one, her Brindi. But not for the same reason.

Brindi is alive and well and was recently transferred to the new pound facility — Homeward Bound City Pound. The Nova Scotia SPCA has lost their contract with the city to house animals seized by Halifax’s Animal Services.

In December, the city revoked Francesca’s visitation to see Brindi –  a once-a-week, half hour visit she had enjoyed for almost seven of the 20 months that Brindi has been impounded.

IN A NUTSHELL: Brindi was seized by the city of Halifax in July 2008 because they deemed her a threat to the safety of the community, a dangerous dog who must be killed. They handed Francesca a piece of paper that included the date she would be destroyed… August 7, 2008.

Fast forward 10 months to May 2009. Brindi is still alive, but still impounded. The SPCA sends Francesca a photo of Brindi taken with staff and volunteers as a birthday present… to let her know that Brindi is doing okay and that they love her. Brindi is eating birthday cake in the photo.

A threat to the safety of the community? A dangerous dog who must be killed?

Fast forward again to a couple months ago when the NS SPCA releases a letter they have submitted to the city suggesting an alternative to killing Brindi, their beloved mascot. Let’s “re-home” her.

Re-home her?

Let’s not return her to the woman who knows her, the woman who has made several unanswered attempts to mediate the situation with the city, the woman who has built a fence and offered to solicit more training, the woman who has made it quite clear that she will do what she needs to do to have her dog returned to her? The woman who has endured this struggle each and every day for 624 days?

C’mon folks. This train is way off track. This can be negotiated. We need to work this out. These are lives we are talking about… living, breathing beings. Not used towels or old cars.

I again ask everyone in Halifax involved in this situation to step back for a minute. Those closest may need to take a few extra steps back to see the whole picture because maybe you are just too close.

Imagine this happening to someone you know: your mother, your sister, your uncle, your grandfather. I ask this so you can separate the specifics from the person at the center of the ruckus because from where I sit, the city’s beef seems to be with Francesca and not Brindi. So replace Francesca with your aunt, your grandmother, your best friend. And perhaps you will see what the rest of us see.

Perhaps then you will see the absurdity.

Francesca Rogier is an American citizen wishing to emigrate to a small rural coastal town outside Halifax in Canada. She is a Fulbright scholar; a university professor of Architecture; a giving person who has donated her time as a volunteer in the community. She became the guardian of a senior dog to save him from a neglectful home; she nursed him back to health and had him until passed a few years ago. She moved Rudy, the cat she adopted when she was teaching in Germany, back to the States with her and then here to Canada; and she adopted Amelia, a companion for him. (Sadly, Rudy passed away a few weeks ago after a long illness.) Her pets have been regularly vetted. They live inside. They are fed every day. They have water to drink. And they are loved. A wonderful home.

Brindi broke away from her. Yes, three times. And she was taken away.

There were no serious injuries and no person was ever bitten.

And the fence she has offered certainly gets to the heart of things.

Lest you have any concerns, Francesca is aware of all of this. She has learned her lesson in a very hard way and has promised she will do better. I think it is in the best interest of the city to work with its citizens and support them, especially those who wish to do better.

There is still time for the city to negotiate an amicable resolution. Hiding behind the statement that “it’s before the court” is not quite right.

Halifax city officials, please… give peace a chance. Negotiate.
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Francesca makes her pre-sentencing statement before the judge on April 16, 2010.

Please call and/or email the contacts below. Do it often and do it regularly.,

Ask them to let Francesca visit Brindi. And ask them to negotiate a resolution to this craziness so Brindi can go home to Francesca.

As we head into a new week and as we head into the two weeks leading up to Francesca’s next court date — April 16, 2010, I am reminded of the words Apple‘s Steve Jobs authored. It speaks to those people who inspire us and motivate us. Those who go out on a limb for what is right.

They change us as they are changing our world.

“…You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them, disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them.”
About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.
Because they change things…”

“…While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

Let’s recognize the change Francesca is making and stand with her. Let’s tell Halifax that in the court of public opinion, we feel Brindi should be released and sent back home to Francesca. It’s not too late for them to correct the inappropriateness of their actions.

Francesca makes her pre-sentencing statement before the judge on April 16, 2010.

Please call and/or email the contacts below.

Do it often and do it regularly.

Kindly ask them to correct this iniquity and return Brindi to her owner, Francesca Rogier.

Hug a rescuer. Donate to animal advocacy. Join Let’s Adopt!

“All I know is, I love my dog more than anybody on the planet. There is nobody who will take better care of her or work harder to keep her safe and sound, with all the necessary aids and precautions.”

“When people tell me how much they love Brindi, I think that’s really great, because it reassures me that even behind bars, she is being her wonderful, beautiful, smart, attentive, fun, eager to learn, and above all, loving self. Even behind bars, all of that comes through; she is weary, she is lonely, she needs more exercise, her teeth and coat need attention, and Lord knows she needs to come home — but she has not gone crazy, she has not become vicious. Not this dog, people!”

“And it gives me a bit of hope. Who in their right mind could kill a dog like Brindi?

“My hope is that maybe, just maybe, people who say they love Brindi will put themselves in my shoes for just a moment. A fraction of a moment. Any amount of time, no matter how brief, would be enough for them to know one thing for certain: nobody loves Brindi as much as I do. And then they would understand exactly why I say that I am not going to stop until she is back home, safe and sound.” [May 2009]

“Good news: permission from the authorities to see Brindi 30 minutes a week, noontime Wednesdays. Two visits so far since January. Unlike back then, this time we were allowed to be inside the building, since it was cold and rainy that day… .” [Note: These are the first two visits Francesca has been "permitted" since Brindi was seized in July 2008.]

“I can’t help thinking that Brindi has easily served ten times more time behind bars than even the worst animal abuser. My time has been much like prison; I certainly have not been living a real life. Knowing your dog is literally on death row makes that kind of impossible.” [May 2009]

[Note: Today's post is taken from Francesca's blog, Free Brindi!. The text comes from May 2009, roughly halfway between today and where this ordeal began in late July 2008. It's but a small part of her story as told in her own words.]

Francesca makes her pre-sentencing statement before the judge on April 16, 2010.
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Please call and/or email the contacts below.

Do it often and do it regularly.

Ask them to correct this iniquity and return Brindi to her owner, Francesca Rogier.

Because the morning afforded it, I spent a little extra time in bed this morning snuggling with Ike and Maude, two of my rescued dogs.

They aren’t anything special. They were born in the woods to a dog who had been dumped on the side of the road. They will likely live their whole lives and pass meaning very little to anyone… except me.

But with thoughts of Brindi in my head, our morning snuggle took on a new perspective.

What if someone took them away from me? What if I was not even allowed to visit them?

I recall Francesca’s words from her blog where she describes some of the images she keeps in her head of her beloved Brindi:

“Random images. The look of joy – Lebensfreude – on a turned-up snoot, big brown eyes rolling up at [me], exquisite pleasure voiced in low grunts in being readied to go outside for any reason at all, but especially, for a nice long walk in the tall grasses. Even better, a towel rub-down after she comes back from a walk soaking wet, which is about 30-40% of the time. I stretch the ends of the towel and rub it perpendicular to her back, from neck to tail. Efficient method. Also makes one happy just to see how happy it makes her. Going to the car, trotting expectantly, looking back for instructions every other step. Sitting upright there. Or, moving through the yard with me, never more than one inch from my left leg, anticipating the route, hoping for the words ‘cross the street.’ Her visible bodily struggle to maintain self-control against sheer glee. Watching her wriggle on her back as soon as we hit the lushest, deep green grasses on the slope, sometimes managing a bit of a slide, always getting really into it, legs in the air, body winding back and forth like a snake. This dog knows how to enjoy a real life and make every simple joy and basic need fulfillment a truly great experience. Ears prick straight up at a sound, a word from me. Snuggle at a moment’s notice.” [August 2008]

What would I do if this was taken away from me? Would I put my life on hold to save the life of my closest companion? Invest all my savings to take a stand against a bad by-law?

But it’s “just a dog.” Just a dog?

“Well, all I can say in response is, ‘It is death, you know. Senseless, needless killing that we are talking about.’ Just because she’s a dog does not make it okay for a city to kill her, when a fence and training will take care of the problem. It is not okay to kill. Brindi is a dog… I love her. She hears, smells, and loves me better than any human I know. She is irreplaceable. I will not simply go to the SPCA and ‘get another one,’ as one of the other dog owners suggested.

“If we cannot honor these helpless creatures who love, give, and forgive us without a thought for themselves, what good are we?” [September 2008]

I took the extra time to snuggle with my dogs this morning BECAUSE I CAN. I took the time to snuggle precisely because Francesca CANNOT. She has shown me what I take for granted.

Give your pet something extra today. And realize… it should not be wrong to stand up for what is right.

Please call and/or email the contacts below. Do it often and do it regularly. Ask them to correct this iniquity and return Brindi to her owner, Francesca Rogier.

All of nature has the ability to reason and the ability to negotiate. It’s innate in us. As natural as rain.

You need only look at the pecking order in a herd of wild horses to see this or the feeding rotation of birds around a birdfeeder.

Society sets rules to govern us, to guide us on acceptable behavior. They provide lines and structure.

If we paint outside those lines, we negotiate the consequences.

Your son breaks your neighbor’s window with an errant baseball. Does your neighbor seize your child? Confiscate his baseball? No, you negotiate with the neighbor to replace his window at your expense. You teach your child a new behavior: don’t play baseball so close to windows.

We negotiate the consequences.

A look through the Halifax Animal By-Law Violation report included by the city each month in the minutes on their website shows that violations are negotiated every month. Fines are routinely negotiated.

There is nothing unusual about Brindi’s incident.

She broke away from Francesca while getting muzzled. She ran to the edge of her property and scuffled with a dog being walked past the house. It was over in seconds. There were no visible wounds nor was the dog vetted for any injuries.

So why has the city of Halifax NOT negotiated this case in all the time that has passed since Brindi was seized in July 2008? The only words we seem to hear from their camp is the long passed cliched response: “We cannot comment because the case is before the court.”

Even the Criminal Code of Canada clearly states in section 718.2 (b) “a sentence should be similar to sentences imposed on similar offenders for similar offences committed in similar circumstances…”

It’s an indifference of sorts to not even attempt to negotiate.

Justice IS blind in Halifax. The same rules applied to other by-law violations are not being applied here.

Please call and/or email the Mayor of Halifax and the head of the city’s Legal Department. Ask them to correct this iniquity and return Brindi to her owner, Francesca Rogier.

It should not be wrong to stand up for what is right.

Mayor – Pete Kelly
kellyp@halifax.ca, mayorhrm@gmail.com
902-490-4010

Head of Legal – Mary Ellen Donovan
donovad@halifax.ca
Phone: 902-490-4232

Ciao, Holly