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

Judgment Day - Update

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.