With regards to Judge Alanna Murphy

May 1, 2010

  I wonder if Judge Murphy knows the extended joy felt in waves around the world yesterday as news of her ruling circumnavigated the world faster than the speed of sound or light. I wonder if she has any idea how much happiness she created within the hearts of more people than she can perhaps […]

Why does a dog lick his…

April 10, 2010

  Well, you probably know where the rest of that question is heading without me telling you. I heard that question posed as an analogy, a philosophy of sorts, many years ago. The answer is, “Because he can.” I think that despite its rather crude exterior, the question makes a valid point: we CAN. Beyond […]

Lighting candles

April 9, 2010

  “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 […]

Give peace a chance

April 8, 2010

  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 […]

The round pegs in the square holes.

April 5, 2010

  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 […]

Saving Brindi: My baby girl

April 4, 2010

“It’s common among animal lovers to think of themselves and others as parents to their pets. I don’t have children; [but] I do call Brindi my baby girl… most of the time, I think of my animals as companions and adults in their own right. Brindi was already four when I adopted her and after a period of clingy-ness she soon gained confidence to become who she is… “

Saving Brindi: “……until she is back home”

April 2, 2010

All I know is, I love my dog, Brindi, 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.

Saving Brindi: Because I can

April 2, 2010

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.

Saving Brindi: All roads lead to… nowhere?

March 31, 2010

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.

Saving Brindi: To sue or not to sue?

March 31, 2010

WHAT IF the city impounded your pet and wouldn’t let you have visitation… what would you do? WHAT IF your only alternative to save your pet from euthanasia was to sue the city… would you do it?

Saving Brindi. Where do you start?

March 30, 2010

WHAT IF city authorities arrived at your door one night with a warrant to SEIZE AND DESTROY your family pet… what would you do? WHAT IF the same by-law that brought them to your door — a by-law designed to safeguard the city — offered you no option for challenging this warrant… what would you do?

Day 13. What to do with myself?

March 9, 2010

Every morning for two weeks, I have jumped on the computer first thing to see what needs to be done to roll out the message for the day’s campaign. It gets written, translated, passed along the appropriate paths, messaged, posted, tweeted… a process of some hours and certainly a tad more complicated that just suggested.

Day 12. Time is up for Brindi.

March 8, 2010

Tomorrow the judge will decide her fate. The only thing we can do now is to spread this post as far and wide as possible using all means necessary. ” Awareness that leads to action” has been the tone of this campaign.

Day 11. True Justice

March 7, 2010

The judge will take a decision on Brindi’s life on Tuesday, March 9 at 9.30 hrs. It is our firm belief that the only decision that will serve true justice is the sparing of Brindi’s life and her return to Francesca Rogier.

Day 10. City of Halifax red-faced on tape

March 6, 2010

Here you will hear the conversation between one of the members of Let’s Adopt! (South Africa), calling from Johannesburg and Miss Mary Ellen Donovan, Legal Advisor to Mayor Peter Kelly of the city of Halifax. This will help you understand the problems Brindi and Francesca Rogier have been suffering during the last 19 months.

Day 9. Brindi. The Naked Truth

March 5, 2010

In five days, Brindi’s owner will go before the judge for sentencing in her case. The city of Halifax wants to euthanize Brindi, having found Francesca Rogier guilty in early February, 2010 of owning a dog that: ran at large, was not muzzled and attacked another dog (along her property line).

Day 8. Brindi. Social Media Saves Lives

March 4, 2010

We are all people of this world. In light of how many people there really are, many of us are nobody important outside our circle of friends and our family. Maybe nobody important outside our community.

Day 7. Brindi: A wrong proposition

March 3, 2010

You make a mistake, it is you who should pay. It is never the animal, it is the human, who makes things go wrong. The payment should be in proportion to the crime.

Day 6. SPCA: Dirty games, Lost contracts and Spin Doctors

March 2, 2010

The SPCA could have stood up and said Brindi is not dangerous or mean, she sleeps under a staffer’s desk after all. In an attitude that betrays their lack of principles they decided not to challenge the city and risk their contract, a contract that was eventually lost.

Day 3: The words of a child

February 27, 2010

Brindi and Francesca

Let’s get real…

Does this looks like an irresponsible owner to you?

Does this look like a couple that deserves to be separated?

Does this looks to you like a dog that deserves to DIE????

Please CALL Mayor Peter J. Kelly, Mayor of Halifax on ph: 902-490-4010 or if you are abroad please email kellyp@halifax.ca and express your deepest inner feelings regarding this case.

What can the Nova Scotia SPCA learn from Tiger Woods?

February 19, 2010

What can the Nova Scotia SPCA learn from Tiger Woods?

Maybe this time…?

February 4, 2010

I spoke with Francesca yesterday after a full final day of court and heard something in her voice that I have never heard before. There was an optimism coming from inside her. Not a perfunctory optimism, but one that seemed to be coming straight from her heart. It simply brought me to tears.

The Journey for a Life(time)

January 27, 2010

I have made this journey with Francesca since April, 2008. I have walked behind her, beside her, in front of her, anytime of the day or night, through smiles and through tears. I have read it all and heard it all. I have sought my own answers.

The Grinch Who Stole Brindi’s Xmas

December 12, 2009

The Nova Scotia SPCA has cancelled all visits for Brindi by her owner Francesca Rogier, who is currently involved in a provincial court battle to have her dog returned to her after she was seized by Animal Control in July 2008 and scheduled to be put down for incidents involving other dogs.

Free Brindi! Benefit Concert in Halifax, August 13

August 6, 2009

Free Brindi! Benefit Concert in Halifax, August 13 — 8 PM — The Company House — 2202 Gottingen Street

364 Days: And Still Brindi Remains Impounded in Halifax

July 22, 2009

Here’s the latest news regarding the ongoing injustice that seems to remain heaped upon an outspoken dog owner, Francesca Rogier, and her impounded dog, Brindi. Let’s Free Brindi!

Help Us FREE Brindi!

July 7, 2009

They say you have to walk in someone’s shoes to understand what they feel. But sometimes, all you have to do is look down the path they have walked to understand enough to stand with them. These days, we seem to be given few options BUT to stand with Francesca Rogier as she continues her walk down the path to her dog’s freedom.

Can you help FREE Brindi?

June 29, 2009

Do you have any items you would donate to help raise funds to defray the legal costs of getting Brindi released from the SPCA in Nova Scotia? She was seized by authorities and impounded in July 2008.