Update: How Don Happened

Update 04/01  10:30 AM

        Well, they hit Craven Desire's Facebook.   Shannon Holt-Grieves left a comment and then immediately deleted it.  The others are still up at this time.

Update:  3/31/15   11:45 PM

         Shannon Holt-Grieves either deleted all her posts from Facebook or set them to private.  The videos of Don are also gone.

 
                                      *                                                 *                                            *


 Last week's Frankenmauler Roundup concluded with the outrageous case of DON, the adopted pit bull who attacked his new family two days after they took him home from Philadelphia Animal Care and Control Team (ACCT).  Don's final victims (WE HOPE) were mother Nicole Keppol, her 11 year old son, and her 10 year old daughter.  According to news reports, all three suffered puncture wounds and torn skin on their arms.  The son's injuries require reconstructive surgery.

        Last week we learned that Don was a graduate of the Pen Pals program, a program whose mission is to prioritize the adoption of dogs who, for one reason or another, have been passed over for adoption in the past and are languishing in the shelter.  Like Don, almost all of the dogs enrolled in Pen Pals are pit bulls or pit mixes.  It is not a coincidence that ACCT Philly received a $10k grant (in addition to significant publicity and promotion) from Best Friends Animal Society.  Readers of Craven Desires will be familiar with Best Friend's role in pit bull advocacy.  Best Friend's motto, "Save The All," is appropriate for this blog post: ACCT workers who promoted and facilitated Don's adoption have a "Save Them All" mindset towards the animals in their charge.  Only "Save Them All" dogma can explain why they chose to release a dog like Dan out onto an unsuspecting public instead of humanely euthanizing him.

         The questions are: besides the entire Pen Pals program, who was handling Don's adoption effort?  What did they know about Don?  In other words, who dropped the fucking ball?

         In a recent interview with the press, the executive director of  ACCT, Susan Cosby, said that Don had passed behavior screenings and was thought to be safe.  She said, "We do a behavior evaluation (but) it is a snapshot in time...no behavior evaluation can guarantee safety so it is never perfect, but we do our best."

        Well, people at ACCT knew a lot more about Don and his behavior than what was captured in a "snapshot in time."  Some people at ACCT knew all about Don.  Don was not some pit bull sleeper agent, successfully blending in as an optimal family pet and whiling away the time until he was activated to fulfill his nefarious purpose.

        Presumably Don had passed a behavior evaluation when he was placed in a foster home where he lasted less than two days before attacking the household's resident pit bull, causing $700 worth of severe rips and tears to the other dog's face.  Selena Trailes, the foster, called ACCT to take Don back and was understandably shocked to learn that ACCT still intended to place Don in a home.  Trailes is worth quoting:

       "I said to her, 'That dog attacked my dog, what if it attacks a kid'  She said, 'Don't worry about it, he won't do that."
 
        and

        "I couldn't believe it.  That poor family, the kids--it could have been my kids.  How can someone sleep at night knowing that they adopted that dog out knowing that it viciously attacked my dog."   

           EXCELLENT QUESTION, Ms. Trailes!

          I wish we could ask Shannon Holt-Grieves, Don's pen pal.  (I'd give anything to know the name of the ACCT staff member who told Trailes "not to worry" about the possibility of Don attacking a child.  My money's on Holt-Grieves.)

Shannon Holt-Grieves, Don's Pen Pal (not pictured)

Shannon Holt-Grieves w/random pit bull

Shannon shows the love

 Shannon's Facebook contains multitudinous pictures and bios of pit bulls she's trying to adopt out or has adopted out in the past.  She's helped to place em far and wide, has Shannon.  Let's take a look at what she did for DON:

        First, we have this rather underwhelming adoption ad.  Looks to me like she was really scraping for something positive to say about ole Don.  As Dawn pointed out, "loves toys" and "housebroken" are not exactly glowing recommendations of a dog's dazzling personality and pet qualities (btw, another bio said that Don wasn't completely housebroken).

Well, at least he loves toys!

Another of Don's Glamour Shots

Shannon thinks Don is "awesome" 

        Pictures don't do this fine fellow justice.  Let's see how Don looks on video.

       Dawn noted that Don has testicles in these vids.  This one was published Feb 17, 2015




      Don jumps in her face a few times in this one:





Don, hyper as hell, published March 6 2015

        Don hasn't been neutered at the time these videos were taken.  What I want to know is, did ACCT Pen Pals and Shannon get him fixed when he was adopted, before he was sent home with his new family?

        It sounds inconceivable to me that he wouldn't be sterilized, but Shannon Holt-Grieves has placed intact pit bulls before.  This is one of Shannon's adopted pit bulls in his new home.  There are more pictures of un-neutered pit bulls in her Facebook.

   
         I truly hope these are isolated incidences and that ACCT routinely sterilizes its animals. How the hell does any animal, much less a pit bull, leave the shelter system without being sterilized?  ACCT can afford the Pen Pals program, but they can't afford to have their animals fixed?  They are drowning in pit bulls, and they release pit bulls capable of perpetuating the humane crisis and overpopulation problem?   Are you kidding me?  

        I found this on Shannon's timeline: she promotes the rehab of a known biter named Bruno.  I think Shannon wrote that story about Bruno there above his picture.  I don't see anything like that story on Bruno's GoFundMe page (they ended the GoFundMe, but you can still read the updates on the site.  A vet treating Bruno refused to complete the examination when Bruno made the feel unsafe.  Shannon seems to think that a dog like BRUNO is still adoptable material).

           The evidence shows that ACCT Pen Pals expended substantial time, effort, and resources to adopt out DON, a pit bull so devoid of lovable personality traits that staff resorted to using his housebreaking as a selling point in his marketing.  ACCT Pen Pals continued trying to place Don after Don attacked and severely injured a pet in Foster home and despite the fact that his foster home expressed concern that could hurt a child.  Don was not an oversight or an accident.  People at ACCT Pen Pals, include Shannon Holt-Grieves, knew that Don was violent and did their best to put him in a home--with children!!!--anyway.

          Here is another example of the "Save Them All" mindset, taken, again, from Shannon's Facebook.  My interpretation of the dialogue is that this white pit bull, Danger, is paired with another dog (presumably a pit bull) named "Sunny."  Sunny's "evals," which I take to mean her behavior evaluation, are "unfortunately, not great."  These ACCT people are still hoping to place these dogs for adoption and are very concerned about Sunny being "killed."  Click to enlarge:

           It is unconscionable that ACCT allowed Don and other dogs like him to be adopted.  I would go so far as to say that it is a violation of public trust and ACCT's obligation of responsibility towards the greater community.  

          I regret to report that nothing I found or read while researching this blog post leads me to believe ACCT will do its best to prevent placing another Don.  Quite the contrary, in fact.

Friday Frankenmauler Roundup: Neighbors from Hell, Mutant Mayhem, & Pit Grifters

     I couldn't think of a title for this edition of the Frankenmauler Roundup.  "Same Shit, Different Day Edition" is accurate--the pit bull crowd is nothing if not consistent--but it lacks the pizzazz I think is necessary to describe these stories of mayhem, narcissism, antisocial behavior, and Jerry Springer buffoonery.  Nor does same shit, different day describe the experiences of the victims.   It certainly wasn't same shit, different day for them.  I am confident that the victims will remember their encounters with these pit bulls and nutters for the rest of their lives (if they lived to tell the tale).

       Instead, it's the "Neighbors from Hell, Mutant Mayhem, & Pit Grifters Edition"  Discursive, but accurate.

     In La Pine, Oregon, a 27 year old mare had to be euthanized after being attacked in a fenced yard by two loose pit bulls, BAILEY (female) and BULLY (male).  The horse's owner, Richard Beck, fired a warning shot, but BULLY kept attacking, so Beck shot him.  BAILEY fled to her nearby home.  The dogs' owner, Tony Maxwell, surrendered BAILEY to animal control and was cited on two counts each of:  animal nuisance and killing, wounding, or injuring livestock.


     In Deltona, FL  Shirley Farina, age 70, suffered injuries while trying to protect her two Yorkies, Casper and Cali, from being mauled to death in their own back yard.  Farina heard her dogs screaming outside and found them being attacked by two pit bulls belonging to her neighbor.  The pit bulls entered her yard by digging under the shared fence.  Farina managed get them off of one of her dogs, but then the pit bulls focused the other Yorkie.  She scooped up the little dog to shield it, at which point the pit bulls started to bite her arms.  She screamed for help and was aided by a neighbor, Jeff Lamey.
     
             "At first I thought it was a child screaming and then I heard a second scream and it was a scream of terror," Lamey said.  "I grabbed two big rocks, jumped the fence, ran over and landed two good shots that broke them loose."  The pit bulls stopped their attack and Farina brought her wounded pets inside to help them.

Casper and Cali RIP

            Farina suffered multiple bites to her hard, arm, and neck.  Casper and Cali did not survive their injuries.  Says Farina: "I've had them since they were babies and they were the love of my life."
 
            The mutants belonged to Farina's neighbor, DEMETRIA BREWER, 24

Neighbor of the Year Demetria Brewer

         Sheriff's Deputies confronted BREWER.  She refused to give them her name or date of birth and yelled at her boyfriend not answer questions, either.  BREWER was arrested on the charge of resisting an officer without violence and booked into the Volusia County Jail.  Her pit bulls were taken by animal control to be put down.

           
 Meanwhile, across the pond in Dover UK, Karen McDonald is still mourning the untimely loss of her dog Petal.  On Feb 17, the springer spaniel was out for her morning walk with McDonald when they had the bad luck of running into drug abuser and bad actor TROY SMITH and his pit bull SPIKE.

          Says McDonald: "I saw this dog come rushing towards us.  It went round the back of Petal and started biting her leg.  I couldn't do anything.  I stood there screaming for help.  I didn't know if the dog would go for me.  It was absolutely terrifying."

            SMITH eventually got SPIKE to release the little dog.  Concerned strangers rendered aid and Petal was rushed to the animal hospital.  The vet recommended that Petal be put down.

           SMITH and SPIKE were later apprehended by authorities in Market Square.  Rather than cooperate and make the inevitable consequences as painless as possible, both of them decided to continue being stupid violent assholes.  SPIKE (later described by kennel workers as "the most undesirable dog (we) had ever had") bit a PCSO on the thigh before being contained.  SMITH, an admitted long-term heroin user, was arrested and bit the finger of a police officer at the police station.  He also lied that he was HIV positive.

howdy, neighbor!

         SMITH, 42, pleaded guilty to assault, affray, violent behavior at a police station and owning a dog dangerously out of control.  On March 17 he was sentenced to 12 months in prison at Canterbury Crown Court.  SPIKE was dirt napped the day after the attack.

     

    Two people-pleasing nanny dogs went on a rampage in San Mateo back on January 21 (it's old news, but I couldn't resist...your humble correspondent found the story by googling "pit bull rampage").

         Shortly after 9:30 AM, police received a call from a "frantic" male who reported being  menaced by two large aggressive pit bulls, each weighing between 55 lbs and 75 lbs.  Police drove to the scene and along the way their radio blew up again: three more people called to report that the dogs were chasing people, including a city sanitation worker.

   

          The first officer to arrive on the scene followed the mutants in his car until they ran into a yard and attacked a landscaper, who used his leaf blower to fend them off. 

nanny was only playing

          The officer tried to distract the pit bulls by blowing his air horn.  It worked: the dogs turned their attention to him and  launched themselves, Cujo-like, against the door.  

           The pit bulls  ran in the direction of a local high school, prompting dispatchers to alert school officials to keep the students inside. Backup officers arrived and the police pursued the dogs, who then charged a woman pushing two children in a stroller.  Again, police distracted the animals with an air horn, but when the dogs changed direction towards a school for disabled children, an officer gave up trying to corner them and rammed them both with his car.

               One ugly mutant died instantly.  The other one decided that the party was OVER and fled for its home, located nearby.  Animal control officers came to the residence and captured the pit bull with the help of its dipshit owner.  While police were at the resident trying to get the dog, they were alerted to ANOTHER woman who'd been bitten by both dogs before the first report.  She suffered puncture wounds to her legs and biceps and was treated at the scene. 

              Police describe the dipshit owner(s) as "cooperative and remorseful," according to a local reporter.  

              I could not discover whether the owner(s) were charged.  Nor could I learn what happened to the surviving pit bull. 

            It was nanny dog mayhem redux in Stockton CA on March 13, when two pit bulls led police on a merry chase in the downtown area after attacking two men and killing a cat.  The first victim suffered bites to his hand.  The second man was attacked near city hall and had to be taken to the hospital for treatment, where he was then released.  

           Police and animal control chased the dogs for several blocks.  When the pit bulls moved towards one officer, the officer fired at one dog named HAZEL, injuring it in the leg.  The pit bulls ran and were taken into custody nearby.

           Meet the owner: pit nutter ROBERT HOUTZ.  HOUTZ came forward to claim his maulers and was allowed to take Hazel to an animal hospital.  

          You can see an interview with Houtz at this link.    Despite considerable evidence to the contrary, Houtz denies that his maulers are vicious: "It's not the breed.  It's the owners and how you train them.  They are not vicious.  I didn't train them that way."  I have no idea how Houtz explains the dead cat and two dog bite victims. Maybe the victims hallucinated their injuries. 

        

      HOUTZ was allowed to take his injured pit bull, HAZEL, to the animal hospital.  Incredibly, Stockton Animal Control returned MONEY, his other dog.  Houtz claims that Money is a service animal.  

       This asshole assumes no personal responsibility whatsoever (and why should he, given that Stockton police say he faces no charges?).  He claims his mutants could not have climbed the fence and that "someone must have let them out."  He claims that his dogs are not vicious, despite the fact that they just attacked two members of the community ("My animals are innocent," he says, on camera).  

        But Houtz's neighbors can rest easy: when Money was returned to Houtz, animal control came by to check that the fences were secure.  They gave Houtz a stern talking to, according to Joe Silva, a police spokesman: "They told him what the consequences would be if the dogs got out again."  

         I got into more trouble than Houtz when I failed to return the license plates after selling my car.  

      

 Now, please allow me to introduce DAVID WUICH of Fox River Grove, Illinois.   Wuich was recently featured in his local paper, the Northwest Herald.  Here's his picture:

David Wuich walking CAPONE and WHISKEY(left)
click to enlarge

        Hmmm, what's wrong with that, you wonder!  Just a guy walking his dogs! Those pit bulls might be bad news waiting to happen, but maybe Wuich is a decent person, you know, the naive variety of pit nutter. 

        Nope.  DAVID WUICH is not just bad news waiting to happen.  

        He's already happened.  To multiple people.  More than once.  

       In 2007, Cristina Orton and her lab, Sammy, were the victim of a home invasion. (Readers of Craven Desires will know that home invasion attacks are a pit bull hallmark: unlike other dogs, these ugly maulers actually go inside the homes of strangers looking for prey.  It's fucking heinous, is what it is).   It was like a scene from a horror movie: she was putting groceries away when a pit bull broke through her patio screen and attacked Sammy.  Sammy survived, with 22 staples in his head and dozens of stitches. 

        The "Avon calling!" pit bull was named SHADY, and he was owned by a young pit nutter named DAVID WUICH.

         Wuich put Shady to sleep after he couldn't find a rescue to take the dog (a miracle!).  

        David Wuich is a bad neighbor with an extensive criminal record.  He has been committing crimes his entire adult life and he is not mellowing with age: his most recent charges are FELONY assault and harassment. 

   

Traffic Violations: think DUI, not speeding ticket

           Multiple DUI, restraining order, and domestic violence.  A battering stalker with neck tattoos.  And, of course, PIT BULLS.  

David Wuich gives the nutter salute on Facebook

David Wuich gives the nutter salute on TWITTER

    David Wuich's MySpace has many photos of his pit bulls, past and present.  There are at least 6 different pit bulls there.  I saved all the photos...here are just a few:

"My tattoo.  I just love pit bulls!" he writes

      Lest anyone think that this pit nutter is not a well-rounded individual, I present an example of David Wuich's ARTWORK:

He drew it himself!

    We can explore his other interests on his Pintrest account.  Let's see what he's pinned!

     Well, he likes this glass guitar bong!

Glass Guitar Bong

 David Wuich thinks this is a great recipe for snack food at the "Stonerbowl"...uh, I mean Superbowl.  Wuich gives these "stuffed stoned jalapeno poppers" 2 thumbs up!

David likes these for superbowl

David Wuich covets this key.  "I want one!" he writes

     David works as a kennel manager at an animal hospital.

NEXT UP:  Another day, another shelter-adopted pit bull goes canine IED on its new family!

    Adopted pibble DON lasted fewer than 72 hours in his loving new home in Northeast Philadelphia.  He attacked Nicole Keppol, 33, and both of her children, an 11 year old boy and a 10 year old girl.  The mother and daughter were treated at the hospital and released.  The son needs reconstructive surgery.

     How did this happen?  Did Keppol and family just go to the pound to get a dog, and bad luck had them pick the worst of the lot? Where did DON come from?

     DON was enrolled in the Pen Pal Program at the Philadelphia Animal Care and Control Team Shelter ("ACCT").   The Pen Pal program's mission strikes me as counterintuitive (but, then, I'm not a pit nutter): they prioritize the adoption of dogs languishing in the shelter system.  The dogs that nobody wants to adopt, in other words.  The dogs that have been passed over or deliberately rejected in the past by potential adopters.
   
        The dogs in the Pen Pals Program are overwhelmingly pit bulls...and, what's more, they are the unpopular pit bulls. 

        This is how the Pen Pals Program describes it on their website: 

"These “long term homeless visitors” are overlooked for a variety of reasons such as the appearance of being depressed, or exhibiting anxiety that can be off-putting to potential adoptive families. Many are mixed blends of dogs that look like pit bull terriers that suffer from myths and stereotypes that betray their true loving individual personalities! The ACCT Life Saving Department’s Pen Pal Program aims to improve the quality of life for these dogs and prioritize their adoption."

      Who funds the Pen Pals Program?  BEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY!!!       Click the link to read the entire blowjob of an article on the Best Friends website.  

 The Pen Pal Program dogs get "life skills coaching" and "enrichment activities" and doggie makeovers.  They are photographed with cute new collars.  A volunteer writes up a persuasive, appealing new bio for the dog, which is then aggressively marketed to potential adoptive families.

        Let's look at what the Pen Pal Program did for it's star graduate DON:
      "I'm a really good boy!  I have a killer smile!" sure you are, DON, sure you are

 
"Come to see me for yourself, and bring the whole family!"

     Check out DON's GLAMOR SHOTS! Pen Pals gave him a whole album.

   Soon, DON was adopted.  Here's his photo on his happy day.

  Here's DON in his loving new home, before the attack: "He's a happy dog and we are lucky to have him as part of our family," writes victim Nicole Keppol.  "Don is doing wonderfully."

Don in happier times

   Here's the news video about the attack.  DON's behind bars:


Nicole Keppol's facebook has been silent about DON since the attack.  I'm with Dawn: I hope it's because her lawyer is telling her to keep quiet.  

Pit Bull Attack At Villalobos Begets The Blame Game AH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!

Click here to read an angry tirade about pit bull owners and lovers from Tia Torres and get the details on a Villalobos pit bull attack!

Translation for the rambling tirade from Tia

1. Asshole pit owner (you all know how we are) brought her unruly pit bull to dump it at our shelter and while we were arguing with her, the unruly pit bull (you all know how they are) attacked one of our pit bulls which we will call a puppy to garner more sympathy.

2. The tourists that want to see Villalobos are crazy, violent assholes and we don't like them.

3. We don't like you taking pictures of us struggling with our unruly pit bulls.

4. So, we're charging $20 bucks to visit our "tourist attraction" shelter every day except Saturday when you're welcome to wait in line to see a bunch of pit bulls in a rescue.

5. NO PHOTOS OF US TRYING TO HANDLE UNRULY PIT BULLS!

PS - Would love some of those photos, ya'll!!!!

BAD RAP & Homeless People Working Together Against Public Safety and Animal Welfare

Bad Rap's Donna Reynolds on pit bull owners in poverty (2011):

Selling puppies to keep the lights on and feed the kids. Wouldn't you?… Giving your dog away on craigslist when too many landlords turn you away? What choice do they have? … Sleeping outside on the cold cement because local homeless shelters won't allow pets? You know you'd do the same.

Donna's "Screw-public-safety-AND-animal-welfare-in-the-pursuit-of-being-OPEN-MINDED"* Thanksgiving Blog Post seems to have inspired this nitwit in the Bay area, the home of Bad Rap:

And how about that Rocket Dog Rescue?  Not dire enough - knowing that the pits will starve if Little Miss Nitwit stops feeding them and that a whole slew of little pitties are about to hit the street, they walk away, making a mockery of their own motto.

My question is: after Rocket Dog Rescue walked away from Homeless Man hoping to continue to keep Little Miss Nitwit on the hook (feed the dogs or they'll starve), is she still buying dog food for the entire pit bull family?

Ah, here's the founder of Rocket Dog Rescue.  Turns out SHE'S GOT HOMELESSNESS IN HER FAMILY TREE.  No wonder she sees no problem with ever more starving, homeless pit bulls being born to the streets.  And it probably gives her a special tickle to keep Little Miss Nitwit paying up for an ever increasing number of homeless maulers.  Public Safety and Animal Welfare be damned!

Here's my advice: CALL ANIMAL CONTROL.

*The being open minded crap is simply a cover to legitimize backyard breeders to continue to pump out  more than 2 new pit bulls each and every minute of each and every day of the year and to allow any kind of irresponsible owner to take in as many of these surplus pit bulls as they possibly can so that the cycle can continue because Mr. & Mrs. Donna Reynolds live off the completely artificially perpetuated "plight" of the pit bull.

the ever calculating LEDY VANKAVAGE

 
A very important story from CBS21 in the state of Pennsylvania regarding the TRUE costs of the dog bite epidemic in America. You must watch this.

 
Then compare that to LEDY VANKAVAGE'S fictional crunched numbers for the state of Pennsylvania.

You can read the entire clarion call to the gullible and the spineless at Best Friends.

The state of Pennsylvania declined CBS21's request for an interview but released a statement. I took the liberty of translating the Brazilspeak for my 3 readers.

*I attempted to find the release date for BEST FRIENDS latest greatest propaganda tool, the BSL fiscal impact calculator and it appears to have been released in the spring of 2009, along with the attack on the Pennsylvania lawmakers.



Thank you Animal Uncontrol for bringing this important news story to our attention.

Watch on youtube. Show your support.

CBS21

CBS21


*I have been forced to take copious screenshots and save pdfs whenever I blog about BFAS. The links that I post to BEST FRIENDS have a tendency to disappear. I am flattered really.