Below is the email written by the wonderful rescue volunteer who also happens to be an attorney and is assisting HO-BO Care with gathering information about the charges being brought against my friend Marita and HO-BO Care.
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You all remember Julian, the white 11 month old Boxer, who was a skeleton with skin, and very short, thin hair. When he was finally seized by Brighton Animal Control on January 8, 2004, (and why he was not seized sooner we do not know) he was turned over, by the Brighton ACO (not by the former owner), to HOBO Boxer rescue, founded by Marita Rossmueller, who is probably one of the most dedicated rescuers in the world. He was taken directly to her vet by the ACO.
He was there for over a week, all paid for by HOBO. Then he was in foster care and appeared to be making progress until he took a turn for the worse on the 28th. He was taken back to the vet as soon as they opened on the 29th, where he died on Jan 30th even after a transfusion and other treatment. I can't see how they could have done anything any more perfectly, unless she was prescient, i.e., could foretell the future. Even then, it may not have been possible to save him, as anyone who has dealt with auto immune disease knows. It sneaks up on dogs, and Julian was not robust to start with.
After Julian's death, and after Marita went public with this on two TV stations, and after someone contacted PETA to try to bring pressure on the state to charge Seley (the former owner) under state cruelty laws, Julie Sanders, the Brighton ACO, began saying that Marita was partly to blame for Julian's death. Apparently in Sanders's supplemental police report (Feb 2, after Julian's death), some of her statements also conflict with those made to HOBO representatives on January 9th.
We know that Sanders paid a call to the premises in December when she made them get a doghouse, but she didn't seize Julian until Jan. 8. She now claims he was robust and healthy in December. You have seen his pictures. What do
you think? Looks suspiciously like a CYA attempt on her part. We think she was genuinely concerned about him, and wonder why, and at whose directions, she waited to act. (Please, no hate mail to or about Julie Sanders.)
But it gets worse. At about the same time, after HOBO appeared on TV and people began to pressure the Ass't. State Vet (Dr. Roehr) and the City attorney to file state cruelty charges against Seley, Roehr began to threaten Marita
with charges for Julian's death. Looks suspiciously like retaliation for the bad press. Or a threat to make her shut up. (I'll probably be next.) It was so frivolous that I did not think he would actually do it, but I was wrong.
The Ass't. State Vet (Dr. Roehr) has given Marita Rossmeuller an "Inspection Report, dated March 15, 2004, without actually doing any inspection per se, on which report it lists two violations of PACFA regulations, both specifically about Julian's death on Jan 30. (It also states that the Type of Inspection is: Routine.) He had the Notice of Violation on an Inspection Report form tacked on her door at 8 PM in the evening last week. It states:
[start of quote from violation notice]
Type of violation: Animal Care
Category of Violation: Animal Rescue
Comments: "Pet animals shall be observed daily for signs of disease or injury by fostering individuals."
and
Type of Violation: Veterinary Care
Category of Violation: Animal Rescue
Comments: "Sick or injured animals must be provided with timely veterinary care or euthanized humanely pursuant to PACFA Sec 35-80-102(7)." There was no contact with the rescue's veterinarian during the time that Julian was in the
care of the rescue, until the dog was taken to the vet when its medical condition deteriorated.
[end of quote from violation notice]
The portion of the Comments in quotes are themselves quotes of the regulations. I guess either he is suggesting she should have taken Julian to the vet again, even before Julian seemed to be failing, or she should have exercised her
ESP to know that his frail little body had been attacked by auto immune disease, all within just a few days.
Dr. Roehr has also been threatening Marita with criminal charges which are "just a misdemeanor" (his words to her) since late February. It is actually a Class 2 Misdemeanor, worse than the charge against the owner who starved him
and left him tied outside during the winter (and probably the summer), without adequate food or water or vet care, and without a dog house until December. So she is waiting for the other shoe to fall and get the actual criminal charge. She will fight it through a jury trial, and if that happens, I will open an account for contributions for her legal fees.
The person who is actually, totally, responsible for Julian's death, just lucky enough that he didn't die until after he got into rescue, is Sanjuanita Seley, his former owner of Brighton/Commerce City. She has been charged with "neglect," a different charge than "cruelty," and only under the Brighton City Code, not under the state statute.
Roehr has some pictures that he claims are Julian the Boxer, but they sure don't look like the pictures HOBO took which are on their web site. We don't know when Roehr got them, when he was first contacted about Julian by the Brighton ACO, how long he was involved, when they were taken, or if those pictures are even the same dog. All Marita could see for sure as Roehr flipped them past her face (and refused to let her turn them over and look again) was that the dog was a white Boxer with a far more fuzzy coat and not nearly as thin as Julian was in January. They were certainly not taken of Julian on January 8th.
The arraignment for Seley is next Tuesday, March 30, at 2 PM in the Brighton Municipal Court. They may be hoping for a guilty plea and a disposition on that date. It will be interesting to see if they mention anything about Marita or HOBO being partly at fault for his death in the sentencing process, if it happens then. I'm not sure the City Attorney has all of the correct information and pictures of Julian on January 8th and 9th.
(FYI: An arraignment is the proceeding where a defendant is formally advised of the charges and asked to enter a plea. Frequently in minor cases, a plea deal is negotiated in the minutes before the arraignment and the prosecutor makes his recommendation as to the punishment, and it is all disposed of on that day.)
Often, when we hear about situations like this, I wonder what is the rest of the story. Let me tell you, there is no rest of the story, except speculation about motives. I have seen the vet reports, letters from the vet, letters from the foster parent, and talked to Marita, Jeni and others with HOBO in detail. Her actions were as close to perfect as one can get. This is one of the most clearly frivolous charges and abuses of power I have ever personally seen. But it is not unique. More on that later.
For Marita, apparently there is no administrative procedure process to appeal a Notice of Violation of PACFA. We are told something about she is supposed to appeal it to the same person who gave it to her. Doesn't seem like a very meaningful appeal. (Scott Leach signed the Violation Notice. He did so at Roehr's direction, and it would not have appened otherwise. Roehr was personally involved all along since Marita went public.) So not only is there a potential for criminal charges, the notice of the violation is a blemish on HOBO and Marita's record that is totally undeserved. They really deserve a medal.
Stay tuned for the next developments.
It's been a crazy couple of days.
