Thread: Video: New Jersey Dog Takes A Bite out of Illegal Aliens

This is a video clip from ABC news. Please note how extremely biased they are. The anchor fails to tell the whole story, which the man in the story is trying to convey.

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/ ... 3&src=news

here is a little more in a news story form:

http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/articl ... /711290402
PRINCETON — A dog scheduled to be put down after mauling a gardener from Honduras has ignited a debate over immigration and dog owners' rights in this university town.
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The gardener, Giovanni Rivera, was attacked in June by a German shepherd named Congo and four other dogs at a Princeton home where he did landscaping. Charges were filed against the family who owned the dogs, and Rivera received an insurance settlement of $250,000.

But it's a judge's decision that the dog must be put down that has drawn criticism from some animal lovers and the dog's owners, who say Congo was protecting their property and family.

"It's just insanity what we're going through," Guy James said, sitting in his Princeton home with his wife, Elizabeth, as Congo and another German shepherd sat nearby. The James said the judge's decision to put Congo down has been "horrendous" for the couple and their four young children.

James contends the men showed up early when the dogs were eating, and disregarded his calls for them to stay in their vehicle. He said Congo attacked Rivera after the panicked gardener grabbed his wife from behind and pulled her down, causing her to scream.

Rivera's lawyer, Kevin S. Riechelson, said his client, who is still in New Jersey, did not want to speak about the incident because he was scared after the public outcry over the decision to put the dog down. But Riechelson and Kim Otis, the prosecutor who handled the case, described the attack as unprovoked, saying Rivera never pulled Elizabeth James down to the ground.

In addition, Riechelson said the men were told by their temp agency to show up for work early that day.

Rivera, who was hospitalized for five days, sustained "hundreds and hundreds of cuts," including a deep gash in his right thigh, according to Otis.

"They basically bit and clawed him for about three minutes," Riechelson said.

Public debate over the incident has even reached the office of Gov. Jon S. Corzine, who said last week that while he sympathizes with the dog, he's leaving the animal's fate up to the courts.

The governor's office has received more telephone calls, e-mails, letters and faxes about Congo than about any other issue since the governor took office. Almost everyone has demanded Congo be freed, a governor's spokesman said.

Much of the public discussion has centered on Rivera's immigration status. Neither Riechelson, the James family, their lawyer, or the prosecutor said they know whether Rivera is here legally, nor do they care, saying that it wasn't relevant to the case.

Otis described some of the comments directed at Rivera as "very disturbing" and questioned whether public opinion would be different if the victim had been a child or a non-immigrant.

That thought was echoed by some Hispanic immigrants in Princeton.

"Maybe they would have killed the dog already," said Oscar, a Guatemalan immigrant who didn't want to give his full name because he's in the country illegally. "This country values Americans."

The James' have appealed the judge's ruling that the dog be put down. Until the appeal is heard, Congo is permitted to stay with his family with some restrictions such as wearing a muzzle while he's outdoors.

James said he's rejected a plea deal that would allow Congo to escape euthanasia, provided the pet be labeled "potentially dangerous." He said his dog is not dangerous, and admitting so would be wrong.

James contends the men showed up early when the dogs were eating, and disregarded his calls for them to stay in their vehicle. He said Congo attacked Rivera after the panicked gardener grabbed his wife from behind and pulled her down, causing her to scream.

Why is there even a question about this. SAVE the dog!

Why hasn't The gardener, Giovanni Rivera, been deported since he is a known illegal? The dog was defending his family.

"We enforce our laws, and we defend law-abiding citizens. And we reserve the benefits of citizenship for legal residents."
Matt Blunt Governor of Missouri

OF COURSE! It's a no-brainer! SAVE THE DOG!!!

But as an observation: It appears that the money saved by not hiring American landscapists was woefully lost in legal fees and compensation. If this guy had hired an American, the American would have understood him when he yelled to not get out of the car!

Also: I think that it should be against the law for a NON-CITIZEN to sue a CITIZEN

Originally Posted by dragons5

Otis described some of the comments directed at Rivera as "very disturbing" and questioned whether public opinion would be different if the victim had been a child or a non-immigrant.

That thought was echoed by some Hispanic immigrants in Princeton.

"Maybe they would have killed the dog already," said Oscar, a Guatemalan immigrant who didn't want to give his full name because he's in the country illegally. "This country values Americans."

This country values Americans??? You're damn RIGHT we DO!

Dog Attack on Illegal Immigrant Ignites Immigration Debate In N.J. Town
Many Protest a Judge's Ruling That the Dog Be Put Down


Congo the dog is at the center of an immigration debate. (ABCNEWS.com)From GMA Dec. 1, 2007

Share An 85-pound German shepherd has become the unlikely face of the immigration debate in upscale Princeton, N.J., after a judge ordered the dog to be put down for attacking an illegal immigrant last summer.

Thousands of people have flooded the Internet and even petitioned the governor to ask that Congo be spared for his attack on Honduran landscaper Giovanni Rivera, who was injured seriously in June and later awarded $250,000 in insurance money.

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And while New Jersey Gov. John Corzine has denied calls for a pardon, some town residents are upset the illegal immigrant was allowed to collect monetary compensation for his injuries.

"Too bad Congo doesn't work on the border patrol," one resident wrote online. "Maybe there would be less illegals entering our country."

Another poster called Rivera "illegal scum."

Rivera has called the attacks racist and political.

"We've created a subculture in this country right now. The illegal alien is like a subhuman and that's a dangerous precedent," said Rivera's attorney William Garces.

Not all Princeton's residents believe the incident should be used to fuel an immigration debate.

"I would hate my hometown and home state to go down in history as the place where suburbanites value their dogs above their lives of those they hire to tend their yards," one resident said.

Even Congo's owners, Guy and Elizabeth James, said their case has nothing to do with immigration. They claim their dog was provoked by Rivera.

"They hit my dogs. They grabbed my wife and that's what this case is about," Guy James said.

Currently Congo is living at home, and the James family has appealed the local judge's ruling to put him down. The case now is with New Jersey's Superior Court.

Read All 111 Comments and Post Your Own
http://www.abcnews.go.com:80/GMA/WaterC ... id=3940538

Clone Congo and give one of him to every Sheriff's Office and Police Department in the country. Also provide enough Congo's to ride K-9 with every U.S. Border Control vehicle. Give a Congo to every family whose ever had a burglary or crime committed against a family member or property. Give a Congo to every wife who remains at home with her "partial" family because her husband is in some godforsaken foreign country fighting Bush's War while he leaves America's doors wide open.

Finally, put a Congo in charge of the Department of Homeland Security and throw the bald headed stooge currenty in charge to the dogs.

If all the above can’t be accomplished, give Congo a medal for doing exactly what he was supposed to be doing…protecting his family and property. Congo is a ‘watchdog’ and a damn good one.

Why wasn't the "gardener" arrested for his ASSAULT on the wife?

Frigging sanctuary cities.

I say if the governor has no backbone to do the RIGHT thing, then it's up to the rest of us.

I propose that in the event the authorities come for Congo, those of us close enough should be there, surrounding the home of these American citizens (who could have had guns instead of dogs!!) to prevent the murder of an American pet.

I am contacting PETA to see if they can assist.