Thursday, May 4, 2017

Leonard D. Windsor

As I sat on the porch the other night with the two kitties, one in a trap, and one in a carrier, trying to abate my fear of opening the carrier with the cat I was going to try to save, rather than return to the street, Bunny, biting my hand off not knowing if she was feral or not, with a cocktail in hand, and newspaper in the other, I read an article that made me sick. 

It was about a man in Sodus named LEONARD D. WINDSOR who abandoned his dogs in an apartment after he lost his job and moved to Pennsylvania, on February 14th.  Apparently he had not been seen after the power went out in February, and neighbors became concerned after not seeing him for over a week and knew there were dogs inside. When police were called, they found the dogs.  One was a pit named Duke and a St. Bernard named Wally, neither had any food or water.  Both SURVIVED.  But they were severely emaciated and dehydrated.  Both have since gained weight, Wally was adopted, but Duke is still at the Wayne County Humane Society.  This creep was arrested on April 26th and taken to Sodus Town Court where he plead guilty to animal cruelty, and fined $100 for Wally, and $200 for Duke.  He paid, and went on his merry way.

I will never forget the dog that suffered for so long in a garage on my route, but I didn't know about it.  It went for over a month without food or water.  Corner of Short and Seventh.  The woman who was charged her name was Love Davis, and I attended her trial.  Nearly got kicked out of court, but at least I made an appearance on behalf of that dog, and spoke my mind by writing a letter to the judge, because humans that abuse or neglect animals rarely get anything but a slap on the wrist for what they've done to an animal.  Because its an animal.

I am reposting the posts I wrote back then. 

AUGUST 6, 2010


Here comes da judge....

I find it only fitting today to share with you, my readers, the letter I wrote, with editing help from my special Auntie, to the Judge presiding over the Love Jackson case - where she starved to death the dog under her care, in her garage over the winter this past February. Her sentencing is August 27th. She is only one of many abusers, but some one needs to make a difference.

Dear Judge Schwartz,

I would like to re-introduce myself to you as I was one of the spectators involved in a recent animal cruelty case that you presided over, both in the April pre-trial process and the trial on July 27, 2010, the Love Jackson Animal Case. You made a great impression on me seeing your sincere interest toward the people involved in bringing charges. Those who took the time to unmask this kind of cruelty, and actively did something about this kind of tragedy. I was grateful for the opportunity to speak with you that July day and sincerely appreciated your advice that you would appreciate any additional information that came after that trial date. As you explained, you could not read my letter attached to the petition until after that trial procedure.

This letter further elaborates my deep concern for animals that are abused. My love of animals stems from an early age when my grandparents and parents taught me how to love, treat and respect animals. My grandfather, Bill McCann, was very much involved in Rochester's political scene in the 1960's, one position was a personal assistant to Rochester's Police Commissioner. He ran for Sheriff taking on Sheriff Skinner. Unfortunately, he did not win the election. He, personally had many pets, even taking in orphaned cats. He was my mentor.

Over these past years I have assumed the task of seeking out feral and stray cats, feeding them, giving them the necessary medical care and finding good homes as much as my position allows. My work has evolved into setting up a blog site. http://thebean10.blogspot.com/ to make this plight known to a large population.

As any large city, Rochester has a major problem with homeless and abused animals, and people with an indifference to what animal's rights should be. With this Jackson case, I saw our judicial system work and it energized me to continue with my goals to bring animal cruelty to the forefront.

With this letter, it is my sincerest request that you give the person who brutally abused God's creatures in such an inhumane and unjust manner, Ms. Jackson the fullest sentence to the extent the law allows. In addition to her jail sentence, we should set a precedence to assign parole-like work to continue after her time served, to work in an animal shelter under strict guidance where hopefully she would find remorse and compassion for the animals in her care.

I am most grateful for the time you took to read this letter and I hope you will give my requests serious consideration prior to her sentencing on August 27th. At present the law considers this degree of abuse a misdemeanor. Life, be it animal or human, deserves respect, kindness, compassion and love.

Thank you.

Very truly yours,

August 31, 2010

Well, I went to court this morning. Ms. Jackson doesn't have purple hair anymore. Besides that, when I arrived I saw Kate from The Barking Lot and three of her friends, one from the D & C named Renee, she was not a reporter, but has her connections there! My friend Mary also came, for which I was very grateful. The Judge called Ms. Jackson up and before sentencing asked her what she would like to say, she mumbled something about being sick back then, when she couldn't feed her dog for I don't know how many weeks it takes to starve a dog to death, and that she was sorry. The Prosecutor did speak on behalf of the good guys, and mentioned that when Officer Muller arrived on the scene, it was a 5, 5 being the worst scenario for an animal in trauma. This stuff just sickened me to hear. Not only that, but Officer Muller had shared with us the last time that this dog had chewed his feet off he was so hungry - which was not shared with the public. Hows that? And she was sick. The Judge then spoke and said that in all his 25 years on the bench, he has never had such a showing of compassion for an animal, and he has never received as many letters on behalf of the dog. He told Ms. Jackson that this group wanted her to received the maximum possible. He then told her he would not sentence her to the year in jail, it would be a waste of taxpayer's money. He told her he was sentencing her to 100 hours of community service - to be served at an animal shelter, and a fine, and she could never own an animal again. I was in tears, but composed myself. I get so emotional about this stuff! I am not happy by this, as who is going to monitor that she never owns an animal. And she will take the easy road and show up at the Verona Street shelter where they don't have time to monitor what she is doing as they are inundated themselves with animals. This is in comparison to Lollypop, where there are more people who would make sure she spends the time necessary to give her the dose of reality she needs. She most likely doesn't have a car, which make the Verona Street Shelter an easier place to serve out her sentence. The newspaper report just came out, I attach the link below. All in all, a small drop of justice was served. I do hope they make her work in the worst possible area - not sure what that is, but she needs to be shocked back to humanity.

I hope this man from Sodus is ostracized for the rest of his life.  I pray he never owns another animal.  I wish every human would speak out against neglect and cruelty.  We must speak for those that cannot speak for themselves.

Have a nice day.






9 comments:

  1. I absolutely agree with you, Janine, that punishments are not severe enough for those that abuse animals. These stories sadden my heart; but your story about how you help makes my heart soooooo happy!

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  2. well said Janine... it is not only the animals that suffer abuse, but children..over and over parents are given another chance... risking the lives of those who are trapped in their care... one chance with supervision, very close supervision is enough.. after that.. adoption...

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  3. Recently a guy who abused his dog and wanted him back was in court. I sent a letter to the Judge pleading with him NOT to give him the dog. Many rescue people were in court - he didn't get the dog. I wish our government would support a NATIONAL registry of animal abusers but to date, none exists. Makes me sooooo angry! Nancy C.

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  4. The photo of the bear makes me feel physically sick at my stomach. To see suffering in an innocent creature literally hurts me on a physical level. My stomach tightens up and I feel sick. How anyone can do that to an animal is beyond me. thank you Janine, for being a voice for the animals.

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  5. When I was a younger man, I used to think that I didn't really give a hoot about how people treated their pets. My brothers and I grew up with family dogs, and we always had a good time playing outside with them. But my attitude towards pets started to change the day our dog was out on a walk with us and he got his leg caught in a coil of rusty barbed wire that someone had left out in the field. I remember calmly extracting the dogs leg from the wire with little injury to him, and my brothers being so impressed that I knew what to do. I don't remember if we told our parents what happened, but I remember that day vividly. When I was old enough to move out from my parent house and live on my own, I debated about having a pet and decided that although typically most young men will boast about how they hate cats, privately I thought it might be cool. So I adopted my first cat from an ad in the paper, and have loved cats ever since. But only in the last year have I become acutely aware of the local shelters and how the local pet stores obtain the kittens they sell. How are the animals treated while waiting to be adopted ? How are the kittens presented to potential adopters ?
    Why now do I care so much at almost 54 years of age ?
    TWO reasons - Adopting our two Ragdoll cats last year - and JANINE.
    Now I keep a sharp watch on my two favorite pet stores, Petco and Pet Savers.
    If I see something, I will say something.
    I now have a very strong desire to help with cat rescue groups, shelters, and promoting Janine's efforts any way I can.
    I believe that I will be a Bean supporter for the rest of my life.
    Thanks Big J !

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  6. Joel just an FYI- both Petco and Petsavers (and Petsmart too) all work with rescue groups so the cats have and dogs shown there are being fostered or from Lollypop in some cases. The petstores you should be "keeping a close eye on" are some private pet stores like the one in Marketplace (is it still there?) And those who sell purebred puppies- those are the ones who come from puppymills.
    Carole R.

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    1. Thanks Carol !
      I mention these two specifically because Kitten Korner supplies the cats at Petco in Henrietta, and I had mentioned last month how I was a frequent shopper there and the fact that the adoption room was very smelly and the litter boxes in the holding cages were very dirty and badly needed cleaning. However, within a day of my mention on facebook I was planning on speaking to the manager of the store on my next visit they had everything cleaned up and the room smelled nice and deodorized. Since then I shop there at least once a week and I always check the room. So far its been kept nice. But now that my "cat sense" is fully developed, I watch wherever I go. I see someone mistreating an animal, I plan on getting in their face.

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  7. Joel I have a suggestion- why dont you offer to volunteer for Kitten Korner and clean the cages at petco since you are there on a regular basis? Laraine may welcome additional volunteers. I dont know the specific circumstances of the incident of dirty boxes but it must have been an extenuating cicumstance of a volunteer not showing up as scheduled, as Laraine is very conscientious.
    Carole

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    1. I second that motion! Larraine is very dedicated and has devoted the last 2 decades at least to saving cats. She is Awesome as are most rescue groups I know. Lastly, thank you Carole for all you do for the Kitties you feed and rescue.

      Walt Simoni

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