Drop Kick a Poodle

I love a good local scandal. A jogger is accused of animal cruelty because he kicked a tiny yippy dog than was nipping at his heels. The dog’s owner and PETA claims it was dog assault. The man and jogging groups say it was self-defense, and besides, the dog owner was negligent because the dog was unleashed. From the Baltimore Sun here:

Janice Tippett turns her injured tiny toy poodle several times a day because the dog cannot yet move properly on her own. Following a veterinarian’s orders, Tippett stretches the dog’s limbs to keep them limber, administering canine physical therapy.

“I’m hoping to keep her spirit alive,” Tippett, 37, said. “I hope that in time she’ll be able to be walking and wagging her tail.”

The case of a poodle that was kicked and seriously injured by an Anne Arundel County jogger last week has stirred up a debate over when self-defense becomes animal cruelty, attracting the attention of animal rights, jogging and cycling groups.

The Anne Arundel County state’s attorney office is weighing whether to criminally charge a man who Tippett says kicked her 9-year-old poodle “like a football” after it began nipping at him Thursday in Edgewater.

The poodle had momentarily broken free from Tippett, who was loading the dog into her car at 8:30 a.m. Thursday.

Anne Arundel County police spokesman Shawn A. Urbas said the jogger could face a misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty or a felony charge of aggravated animal cruelty. However, Anne Arundel County laws require animals to be “leashed and under the control of a responsible person.”

Animal cruelty is a misdemeanor and carries a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and or a $1,000 fine. Felony aggravated cruelty to animals carries a maximum penalty of three years in jail and a $5,000 fine.

According to Urbas, the white poodle was kicked two times by the jogger. The 4-pound dog spent 4 1/2 days in veterinary care.

Urbas said the dog ran out of her owner’s garage, chased the jogger and “nipped at his ankles.”

“The jogger tried to shoo it away, the dog persisted at the man’s feet and the jogger kicked it two times,” Urbas said.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent a letter yesterday to the state’s attorney’s office urging that they charge the jogger.

“We will ask for a vigorous prosecution like the world depended on it,” said Martin Mersereau, the manager for the domestic animal abuse department at PETA.

Tippett said the jogger’s kick sent the dog four feet into the air and 10 feet across the street. When the dog landed, she “was obviously in great trauma,” Tippett said.

She drove the dog to the nearby Reichardt Animal Hospital, while her roommate, Margo Owen, administered CPR. The animal was treated at two other clinics and then released Monday.

Tippett said she has spent thousands of dollars on veterinary care.

After the dog was kicked, Tippett said she printed fliers and put them around the neighborhood to locate the jogger. On Saturday afternoon, a man called her cell phone and acknowledged kicking the dog.

“I just screamed, ‘Why did you do it?’ and I threw the phone to my friend,” Tippett said. “I don’t have a desire to talk to him.”

Tippett, meanwhile, is nursing her dog back to health: “My focus is getting my little girl better.”

There are so many things wrong with this story. First of all, the dog is 63 years old in Dog Years. If the animal was suffering so much, why didn’t the owner put it down? Because she is an irresponsible woman who refuses to take responsibility for her own actions. Rather than blame herself, she would rather point the blame elsewhere.

The story says that the poodle “broke free” as if it were some extremely powerful animal. The poodle didnt break free. Tippett neglected to watch her dog.

And PETA, stung by years of ineffectual lawsuits and staffed by girlie men, has to prosecute “like the world depends on it.” Uh. No, the world does not depend on it. PETA should go throw blood on shoppers somewhere like the world depends on it and leave this issue alone.

Finally, NOT THAT THERE IS ANYTHING WRONG WITH IT but this obvious lesbian couple should stop thinking that this dog is their “daughter.” Its not. Its a little yippee dog that is too stupid to live. And the owner is just prolonging its agony.