One more day?

Tomorrow is the day scheduled for Brindi's euthanization. 

I've requested a written confirmation from everybody I can think of, but have nothing so far. I am just crossing my fingers that SOMEBODY has pulled the right piece of paper from the right place, or however it's done, so it does not go through. 

What is going on? Not enough, not yet...

Yesterday at around 11 am, my city city counselor, David Hendsbee, met me at Tim Horton's not far from the Metro SPCA facility where Brindi is kept, and kindly listened to all I had to say. I showed him the petition and the Facebook group, as well as the many letters I received from people who know Brindi professionally and personally.  

Apparently the physical location of Animal Services office is an official secret. David suggested we first go to the SPCA and check on Brindi. I agreed, of course! All I have is word of a verbal agreement between two lawyers, and no response to the letter I faxed to the supervisor days ago.

At the SPCA, the two of us waited patiently on line while others applied for adoptions and asked to walk dogs. David only had an hour to spare before a Council session, and was dressed in a blue pinstripe suit. Being very tall as well, he easily stood out in that small office. When it was our turn half an hour later, he asked to see Brindi. The volunteer at the desk retreated to check with the manager. She came back to tell David he needed authorization from Animal Services. David waited a bit after the SPCA called in, then phoned them himself. Incidentally: David is an avid animal control proponent. He worked on the first draft of the current law, and favors the "one-bite" muzzle rule - muzzling after a dog bites a human one time. His main concern was protecting humans from dogs, and he was surprised at how the law is being enforced here. 

David was very firm, but the manager of Animal Services would not give her consent to either the two of us or David alone to see my dog. In an ironic twist, she even cited concern for Brindi as a reason: they didn't want her to become distressed after seeing her owner. Ultimately, she told David to call her boss, a police official who oversees her department. Unfortunately, that official did not answer. In the end, we left the SPCA without seeing Brindi. All I had been able to do, other than grip a chair and choke back a few sobs, was ask a volunteer to at least confirm that Brindi was still alive. She first declined, then returned to say yes, my dog was there, andis  healthy. More than that, she could not say. 

I phoned my lawyer, David Green, with the news from the parking lot. He felt the case should not have prevented them from showing my dog to a city councilman, and he said, well, we'd better file the papers right away, because it's only two days away from August 7. I agreed.

Failure

It was very tough to leave the SPCA. I spent a few minutes in the parking area, looking at the river, trying not to scream, sobbing, wondering how things ever came to this. How screwed up is my life, that now my dog has to suffer for it? I didn't want to go home. It was hard enough driving around without Brindi in the back, loving the wind on her face. I ended up doing errands and visiting people until about 5 pm, 24 hours ago from now. 

Now that the papers are being filed, or already filed, I feel I can start contacting other media, although I cannot say I am looking forward to this. But I was delighted to hear that members of the Facebook group, led by Michael Asuncion, are writing to every one of our 23 council members for help. Since the mayor's office declined my request to meet with him about Brindi, citing the court case, I am very grateful for this. 

Mike tried to fight By-Law A300 before it was passed. He even started a website: Declaw.the.byaw: How Does Bylaw A300 Harm Dogs? Other people have written to tell me that back then, they tried to tell the city that something like this would happen. 

As for me, it's hot. I am missing the best weather of the year, and so is Brindi, who trudged through about six months of winter with me. 

I am seriously afraid I am not up to this task. It would be best if I could get a fence put up, but how - I can barely keep up on the emails and calls right now. So far today, I could only manage to eat one thing: a chocolate ice cream cone. It was the only food I wouldn't gag on. I managed to do a little laundry, but my kitchen has dishes dating to before Brindi's seizure. I need to sit down and revise my construction drawings so that I can start a new contractor on the house - or else I will end up freezing through another winter. Already the footings are rotting with all the water from the heavy rains; I spotted some green algae on a few sections. My throat hurts, and it was so hoarse yesterday, I could not control the pitch at all. It sounded like it had pieces of straw poking out of it. I hope it's better if I get the chance to speak on the radio.