Category: News

Rape Charges Dropped Against Toney Converse of ‘Pit Bulls and Parolees’

According to a lawsuit filed in June 2015 by Jennifer Stampfel, after she visited Villalobos Rescue Center (VRC), the rescue on Animal Planet’s “Pit Bulls and Parolees,” Toney Converse, a parolee featured on the reality show, “drugged her, raped her twice, stole her virginity, transmitted an STD to her, impregnated (her) and threatened to kill her,” the New Orleans Advocate reported.

Stampfel, a seminary student from Pittsburgh, Pa., wanted her name to be made public to “bring awareness to the situation,” her attorney, Charles Marshall III, told news sources at the time.

Stampfel didn’t only sue Converse. She also sued VRC, its owner Tia Torres, Tahyo Tavern (a bar owned by Torres) and 44 Blue, the production company for “Pit Bulls and Parolees,” all for failing to supervise Converse.

“The true and innocent victims here are the dogs of Villalobos Rescue Center,” Torres said in a statement last year. “What did they ever do to her that warrants taking away the donations used to feed them, house them, treat them for deadly heartworm disease and ultimately get them to a new home? What kind of person wants to be responsible for causing irreparable damage to hundreds…no, thousands of homeless dogs?”

To prepare financially for the lawsuit, VRC closed two satellite locations and consolidated the dogs on a donated property in rural Louisiana. The past season of “Pit Bulls and Parolees” didn’t mention the lawsuits but showed Torres and her family, along with volunteers, getting the new property ready for the dogs.

One year later, the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office has decided not to prosecute Converse.

“Our office has concluded that based on the facts presented, the witnesses interviewed and the circumstances described in the report, the matter does not merit prosecution,” wrote First Assistant District Attorney Graymond Martin in a letter to New Orleans Police Superintendent Michael Harrison, the Times-Picayune reports.

The civil suit, however, is still pending.



Stampfel’s ‘Disgusting’ Allegations

These are the pretty far-fetched facts of the case, according to Stampfel’s lawsuit.

Stampfel said she first met Converse in April 2014, when she was visiting New Orleans and stopped by VRC. She returned to the city two months later to attend the Summer Hebrew Institute at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

While she and Converse were at Tahyo Tavern, a bar owned by Torres, Stampfel says Converse drugged her soda and later raped her at the house where he was living. She did not report the rape until two weeks later, after finding out she was pregnant.

Stampfel then signed up for VRC’s Bully Boot Camp program for the purpose of confronting Converse about the rape and telling Torres, according to the lawsuit. In August 2014, while confronting Converse at the same house where the rape had allegedly occurred, Stampfel said he again sexually assaulted her.

I don’t understand why Stampfel would return to VRC and Converse — and why she would sue VRC, which is only punishing the dogs.

“I have been raped and NEVER did I go back for it to happen again!!!” wrote a commenter on my June 2015 story about the lawsuits. “I don’t know this girl but something just don’t sound right. Just not believable.”

Converse’s attorneys called Stampfel’s allegations disgusting and defamatory. Converse planned to countersue for defamation.

“Everything about our relationship was consensual from the day she came down to the day she left, to my knowledge,” Converse told WDSU.

Photo via Facebook

Military Hero Dog Will Be Parade’s First Fur-Legged Grand Marshal

When Sgt. Rambo leads the Live Oak Memorial Day Parade in Texas this Saturday, it will be the first time the parade has had a fur-legged grand marshal.

But it won’t be Rambo’s first time as a grand marshal — the 8-year-old (as of May 27) German Shepherd from Converse, Texas, had the same honors last year in the Universal City Veterans Day Parade.

Rambo, recipient of the Military Dogs honor in the American Humane Association’s 2015 Hero Dog Awards, served in the Marine Corps as an explosives detection dog. He participated in 622 missions on the base and in the local community of Cherry Point, N.C. Rambo was medically retired due to a shoulder injury, and later had to have his left front leg amputated.

But that didn’t stop this veteran. Rambo became a mascot for Alamo Honor Flight, a nonprofit organization that flies veterans from San Antonio to Washington, D.C., free of charge so they can visit their memorials.

Lisa Phillips, Rambo’s handler and dog mom, has had him for four years.  “He’s also my service dog, and he’s the love of my life,” she told MySanAntonio.com.

Phillips is also a veteran. While serving in 2005, she adopted another military working dog named Gizmo. When Gizmo retired, his health declined, and his veterinary bills began piling up.

“I had to get a second job to provide for him the medical care he deserved,” Phillips told MySanAntonio.com.

After Gizmo died of kidney failure, Phillips founded Gizmo’s Gift. The nonprofit provides financial support to families adopting retired military working dogs. Rambo is the organization’s mascot.

“We’re supporting about 30 dogs right now, and about 15 have been adopted by prior handlers,” Phillips told MySanAntonio.com.

Until recently, retired military working dogs were considered equipment. They were often left behind on enemy soil since the cost of transporting them to the United States was prohibitive.

But late last year President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes a provision that not only guarantees that these dogs are returned by the military to the U.S. when they retire, but also that their handlers have first dibs on adopting them as pets.

“We thank these brave heroes for serving our country, and we are grateful that every one will finally get the retirement they deserve with those who care for them most,” Dr. Robin Ganzert, president and CEO of the American Humane Association, wrote at the time in a message to supporters.

Many of these four-legged heroes have now been adopted by their former handlers, Phillips said.

“The tricky thing is, most dogs have multiple handlers throughout their careers,” she told MySanAntonio.com. “Rambo got injured early on. Through networking on Facebook, [my adoption of Rambo] was a perfect fit.”

When Rambo, with Phillips by his side, leads the Live Oak Memorial Day Parade on Saturday, he’ll be wearing his Marines vest with his rank and patches.

“He knows something special is about to happen when he gets to put on his vest,” Phillips told MySanAntonio.com.

The Live Oak Memorial Day Parade begins at 10 a.m. May 28.

To celebrate Rambo’s 8th birthday, special T-shirts are on sale for a limited time to benefit Gizmo’s Gift. You can also make a donation to Gizmo’s Gift by clicking here.

Photo via Facebook

Paralyzed Dog ‘Cured’ by Vet Intern Moments Before Euthanization

A family with the eerily appropriate surname of Fate made the very difficult decision to have their beloved 10-year-old dog, Ollie the Collie, euthanized earlier this month.

Not long after the family had gone on a recent camping trip, Ollie suddenly became paralyzed. Neither blood work, a urinalysis or X-rays revealed the possible cause.

“They finally decided they had reached their limit and it was time to help him pass,” Dr. Adam Stone, a veterinarian at the Dove Lewis Animal Hospital in Portland, told KPTV. “He couldn’t stand, he couldn’t walk, he couldn’t urinate, couldn’t defecate. So they had instructions to go get his bladder emptied twice a day from the regular vet to see if he would improve.”

Dr. Stone said the possible causes of Ollie’s paralysis could have been anything from cancer to a fractured vertebrae in his spine.

“When his mobility was shot and he was paralyzed, it was just weird seeing him just laying there on the floor, knowing he had so much more life in him,” Falline Fate told KPTV. “He’s been a really big part of our family.”

Moments before Ollie was to be given the injection that would end his life, veterinary intern Neena Golden scratched his ears to comfort him. She felt a strange lump and lifted his fur to see what it was.

It was a tick lodged in the back of Ollie’s ear.

“Ticks have a neurotoxin in their saliva that prevents nerve transition to the muscles, and that takes time to build up in the body and cause paralysis like what we saw in Ollie,” Dr. Stone told KPTV.

He said tick paralysis is rare — in fact, before Ollie, he had never seen a case. “It’s one of those things you learn about randomly in school – it’s on one slide during one presentation,” he said on the Dove Lewis Animal Hospital website.

Tick paralysis is yet another reason to protect your dog from ticks as well as fleas and other parasites — which the Fate family will certainly be doing from now on. Ollie had been wearing a tick collar on the camping trip, but it wasn’t enough.

Tick paralysis is easily cured by simply removing the tick. And sure enough, barely 10 hours after Golden found the tick, Ollie was back to his old self, on his feet and energetic.

“We were astounded by the quick turnaround,” said Ollie’s dog dad, Al Fate, according to the Dove Lewis website.

Golden said that when the hospital heard from the Fates that Ollie was doing fine, the staff high-fived each other. “That might be the one tick paralysis case I experience in my career,” she said on the Dove Lewis website. “It was exciting that we could help.”

“It was just pure grace that the people found something and decided to check it out further,” Falline Fate told KPTV.

Photo via Twitter

German Shepherd Leads Firefighters to Children in Burning House

Maxx, a German Shepherd, is being hailed as a hero for his help in saving the lives of two children after his family’s house in Longwood, Fla., went up in flames Monday night.

Neighbors who heard an explosion around 11:30 p.m. called 911 and rushed over to help the family.

“We heard a loud boom from a house that is just a couple houses down from here,” Chip Dover told News 6. “We saw orange flames coming out.”

Using patio furniture, Dover and his son, Andrew, were able to break windows and pull out Maxx’s dog mom, Seminole County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) Investigator Margo Feaser.

When firefighters arrived, they busted down the front door and rescued Feaser’s husband, Brent.

But the couple’s 2-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son were still inside the burning house.

Margo Feaser, a 12-year veteran of SCSO who also served overseas with the U.S. Army during Operation Enduring Freedom, had to be held back from running into the house to save her children. But Maxx stepped in and led the firefighters through flames and thick smoke to the boy and girl.

“I am not surprised, and it certainly tugs at my heart knowing that the majority of our dogs and our pets would do that for any one of us,” Dr. Chloe Magaldino of Sanlando Animal Hospital told WESH. “Even though a lot of us say, ‘My dog would not do that’ or ‘My dog is such a wimp,’ I can almost guarantee, nine times out of 10, that they would put your life, your safety, ahead of their own.”

Maxx was treated at a local veterinary hospital for smoke inhalation and minor burns to his paws. His family, however, remains hospitalized, with injuries ranging from serious to critical — but they all are expected to survive.

“We are grateful to the neighbors who jumped into action, and we especially thank the firefighters who selflessly entered the burning structure and risked their lives for the Feaser family,” Sheriff Don Eslinger said in a statement. “There is a long road of recovery and rebuilding ahead, but our Sheriff’s Office family will be with Margo and her family every step of the way. We know our community is behind them too, and we appreciate the tremendous outpouring of support the family has received.”

The fire, which completely destroyed the house, was accidental, according to the state fire marshal’s preliminary investigation. It started on the back porch.

To help the Feaser family pay their medical and veterinary bills as well as temporary housing expenses, a GoFundMe page has been created. As of this morning, more than $17,800 has been donated.

You can also make a contribution by check to the “Seminole County Sheriff’s Office Employee Benevolent Fund” and send it to 100 Bush Boulevard, Sanford, FL 32773, Attention: “Feaser Family Fund.”

Photos via GoFundMe.com

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard Apologize for Smuggling Dogs into Australia

MAY 9, 2016 UPDATE: Johnny Depp apparently didn’t take the video apology too seriously. At a press conference in London yesterday promoting his new move, “Alice Through the Looking Glass,” Depp made fun of it.

As his co-stars laughed off-camera, Depp said, very dramatically, “I’m going to do this everywhere I go: I would really like to apologize for not smuggling my dogs into England, because it would have been a bad thing to do.”

A video of the press conference posted by Reuters on YouTube has 137 thumbs down and only 51 thumbs up as of Monday morning. Here’s hoping it gets hundreds more thumbs-down.

In May 2015, Johnny Depp, who was in Australia filming another sequel to “Pirates of the Caribbean,” and his wife, actress Amber Heard, thought they could get around Australia’s pet quarantine laws by flying their Yorkies into the country on a private jet and hiding them in a handbag at the airport.

But the contraband canines, Boo and Pistol, were discovered not long after they arrived when an assistant took them to a groomer, who posted their photos on social media.

Like many countries (and Hawaii), Australia has strict quarantine laws for imported pets in order to prevent the spread of diseases like rabies. People traveling with their dogs must first apply for a permit. The length of the quarantine period varies; in Australia, it’s a minimum of 10 days.

When Australia’s Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce announced that Boo and Pearl would both be euthanized if they weren’t “buggered off back to the U.S.,” as he put it, it drew international ire, launching the social media campaign #WarOnTerrier.

Heard flew back to California with Boo and Pistol on the private jet.

Two months later, the Commonwealth Department of Public Prosecutions announced it was charging Heard with two counts of illegally importing dogs into Australia and one count of producing a false document

Heard faced up to 10 years in prison and a maximum $75,000 fine for the illegal importation charge, and up to a year in prison and a maximum $8,000 fine for the false document charge.

But those charges were dropped yesterday when Heard pleaded guilty to making a false statement to Australia immigration regarding the dogs, BBC News reports. Depp accompanied his wife to Southport Magistrate’s Court in Queensland, but was excused from providing evidence after his wife’s guilty plea.

The judge gave Heard a one-month good behavior bond. Should she break the bond, she must pay $770.

A very stoic Heard and Depp also appeared in a video, made public by the Australia Dept. of Agriculture, in which they apologize for smuggling their dogs into the country. The AFP news agency dubbed it “an awkward finale” to the case.

“Australia is free of many pests and diseases that are commonplace around the world,” Heard says in the video. “That is why Australia has to have such strong biosecurity laws.”

Depp adds, “And Australians are just as unique — both warm and direct. When you disrespect Australian law, they will tell you firmly.”

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