Patrick's Story...
...the plight that changed animal advocacy forever...Patrick the Pit Bull was found at the bottom of a garbage chute in an apartment building in Newark, New Jersey on March 16, 2011. He was starved to near death, placed in a plastic garbage bag, and tossed down a garbage chute from the 19th Floor. The wonderful good samaritans, the custodians who choose to remain unnamed, called the animal control officers who transported the barely alive dog to the Associated Humane Society (AHS) with great doubt he would survive the night. The next morning when they found him alive, they named him Patrick because it was St. Patrick's Day - and this was one lucky, ginger colored dog! Because they didn't have the facilities for the 24-hour care Patrick required, they brought him to the Garden State Veterinary Specialists (GSVS) in Tinton Falls, New Jersey.
Kisha Curtis, of Newark, NJ, was initially charged in April 2011 with two counts of tormenting and torturing a living creature and two counts of abandonment. She pleaded not guilty upon receiving those initial charges, but on the eve of her trial scheduled for July 31, 2013, she pleaded guilty to 4th-Degree Animal Cruelty. You can read more about her guilty plea by clicking here. This was not the only court case about Patrick. One of the vets at GSVS and his wife, the office manager, requested to adopt Patrick not long after he was placed in their care, but the AHS had decided that they want this famous dog returned to them and they likely spent tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees suing GSVS and the City of Newark for his custody. On June 2, 2011 the judge ordered that because Patrick wss both the victim and evidence that he was to remain in the custody of GSVS until the criminal case against Kisha Curtis was to be decided. Patrick has since, happily, been adopted by his forever family, the Scavelli's of GSVS. Patrick's story struck a nerve with animal lovers and advocates literally around the world, and there have been movements begun in his name to be the voices for abused and neglected animals. Patrick's Posse is just one of those movements and we hope you will join the movement to encourage stronger laws and penalties for animal abuse and neglect and to help animals who are suffering. It is a very long road, and often painful, but if we're not part of the solution, we are part of the problem. Thank you for standing up for animals everywhere. |
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