Iraq war veteran and City of Fort Worth come to terms; Mimi is home

Official update from the City of Fort Worth:

The Code Compliance Department issued the following update:

Steven Woods and his dog, Mimi, are back home today after the full requirements of the City’s dangerous dog ordinance were met.

Thanks to the Humane Society of North Texas, Mimi was spayed. She now is current in her rabies shots and microchipped, also in compliance with the dangerous dog ordinance and the municipal court’s order. We appreciate Mr. Woods’ cooperation in meeting the ordinance requirements, as well as the donations from concerned citizens to help Mr. Woods meet the requirements.

It took some time, but in the end ensuring public safety, including that of Mr. Woods and Mimi, was the focus of the city’s Animal Care and Control Division, and that final outcome was achieved.

From Randy Turner:

Dear Friends of Mimi and Steven:  (Please share this email with as many people as you can)

Mimi is home now.  Steven picked her up at the Humane Society of North Texas at 1:00 p.m. today with television cameras filming the moment they saw each other for the first time in five weeks.  They hugged and kissed… and then they hugged and kissed some more…and then some more after that.  Mimi was still a little groggy and in some pain after having just coming out of anesthesia following the spay procedure so she wasn’t her usual frisky self.   Steven was so overcome with joy that he had a hard time thinking of what to say.  After talking to the reporters he slipped the muzzle on Mimi—which she did not like but will have to get used to—he thanked the HSNT staff, and walked her out to the car.  (By the way, Steven is in a rental car because he had a bad wreck and rolled his car a couple of weeks ago while swerving to avoid a stray dog, hurting his back yet again.  His insurance agent told him he should have just run over the dog.  Steven told me, “Mr. Turner, I couldn’t do that.” Classic Steven Woods.)   I need to tell you that the veterinarian and the technicians at HSNT said Mimi was a “sweetie pie” the whole time she was there and showed absolutely no signs of aggression.  Steven told me that she is getting a big steak dinner and a warm bath tonight!

I think you will be able to watch the news stories at these websites after they run tonight: http://www.the33tv.com/,  http://dfw.cbslocal.com/, and http://www.myfoxdfw.com/ .  There may be others. 

I want to say again how profoundly grateful that Steven and I are for the incredible outpouring of support that he and Mimi received from all over the DFW area, Texas, the U.S., Canada, and Europe.  Thanks to your countless emails and phone calls to Ft. Worth government officials we were able to get Mimi back home without months of protracted litigation that, quite frankly, we might have lost in the end.   On a personal level, the response we received in this case has given a big boost to my faith in two-legged animals.  I have been amazed at the diversity of Steven’s supporters—liberal, conservative, young, old, black, white—every demographic you can think of.  This case just shows how much good can be accomplished when people come together for a good cause, like saving an animal and helping a disabled war veteran.

Steven asked me as he was leaving how he could possibly thank everyone who came to his aid in this ordeal.  I told him that I would try to email him the 1,000+ emails I have received.  But it will take a while for me to do that and even longer for Steven to respond to everyone.  I found out that he has a Facebook page.   I don’t do Facebook and don’t know much about it but he said I could give out his email address and you can use it to find him on Facebook.  He can post updates on Mimi and himself.  If you email Steven please keep in mind that it may take him quite some time to respond due to the huge volume of emails he is sure to receive.  Steven’s email address is ebonygold99@yahoo.com.

That’s all.  Thank you again for saving Mimi and Steven.

Now, where’s that law practice I had a few days ago…..?

Randy

Randall E. Turner

Turner & McKenzie, PC

Attorneys at Law

1800 Norwood, Suite 100

Hurst, Texas 76054

Tel.: 817-282-3868

Fax: 817-268-1563

www.turnermckenzie.com   

While this story certainly has a happy ending, it's brought to light a lot of questions about dangerous dog laws.  Most dog owners don't seem to realize these laws exist, much less what they mean.  We'll explore some of those laws in future articles.  In the meantime, if you live in Dallas, find what you need to know on the Dallas Animal Services website, or in Fort Worth, check the website for Fort Worth Animal Care & Control.  And by all means, keep your dogs confined or on a leash at ALL times, except in designated off-leash dog parks.

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Copyright Rebecca Poling 2010.  All rights reserved.