Maybe this time…?

By isak, 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.

I have known Francesca since April, 2009 when I signed up to be a supporter and, by that time, she was already nine months into the nightmare this case has become. It has been a struggle on so many more levels than anyone can possibly imagine, but all center around her beloved dog, Brindi, who was seized by Animal Control in July, 2008 and given a death sentence for a minor incident with another dog on her property line. The case is wrapped in misapplied and emotionally charged legalities where the city of Halifax has chosen to ignore some of its own basic legislation in its quest to kill a dog guilty of less than other dogs in its jurisdiction. Dogs that were never seized; owners were simply fined. The specifics are beyond the scope of this post.

This has been a long and exhausting story that few know all the details of… and so be it because the more you know, the more horrifying it becomes. However, the one constant through this story is Francesca’s unwavering devotion to freeing Brindi and bringing her home so they can start to rebuild their lives from where they were more than a year and a half ago.

Much like Francesca, I am optimistic… albeit cautiously so. Please God, guardian angels, higher powers, whomever… let this be the light at the end of a very long, dark tunnel and let it not be another train; let Brindi finally come home to her mom, Francesca, and siblings Rudy and Amelia. They are so deserving of this.

I venture to ask you to ask your “angels” for the same.

“The Rogiers of Halifax”