Newport city officials learned the power of social media the hard way this week: Hundreds of emails, phone calls and Facebook messages from as far as Switzerland calling for their action or resignation -- and, in the case of one council member, the kidnapping of his dog.
"I have never had this experience before. It went crazy everywhere," Newport council member Steven Gallagher said. "It reminded me how in grade school when you tell a secret at the beginning of the class, and at the end, everything's wrong."
The calls came in response to an erroneous Facebook post about a dispute between a Newport dog owner and some tree trimmers. On Tuesday, in the 1000 block of Fourth Street, the trimmers saw an emaciated dog lying on its side in a nearby yard and took a photo.
They argued with the mother of the dog owner -- who called police when the trimmers came on her property.
"The two (tree trimmers) felt the dog was being maltreated and tortured and chose to confront her. The lady did not appreciate the concern and verbal lashing she received," stated a police report on the incident.
But the officer soon discovered the dog -- which was being given food, water and medication -- had Cushing's disease, which causes dramatic muscle wasting. And the 13-year-old pitbull mix was being cared for by a vet.
He told the owner, Mike Bradley, that it was likely time to put it down -- but, according to Newport Police Chief Curt Montgomery, "The officer didn't remove the dog so the owner could bring the dog into the vet. The dog would be less afraid or frightened than if a stranger had brought her into the vet."
That was Tuesday.
On Wednesday, it became clear to council members that one of the tree trimmers -- whose names were not available Friday evening -- had posted a photo of the dog on Facebook, reportedly alleging animal abuse. It in turn was reposted and shared thousands of times, and the outrage began rolling in.
Gallagher estimated receiving 500 emails, 110 Facebook messages and several dozen phone calls by fFriday -- most citing the "clear animal abuse," wondering why the city hadn't acted and alleging a coverup. Chief Montgomery estimated hundreds of emails, as well.
Gallagher, wondering what was going on, called police.
On Wednesday evening, police returned to the address, saw the dog on the couch and again noted it was being fed and given clean water. Again, he tried to persuade the dog owner to put it down. This time, he was successful.
"I do want to make clear that Mike did work with us over the past year to diagnose and treat his dog as best he could," the dog's veterinarian, Jonathan Woodman of Town & Country Veterinary Services, stated in a letter to the chief. The letter also confirmed the dog's diagnosis of Cushing's disease and added that Woodman euthanized the dog Wednesday.
"I do not consider that he (the owner) was purposefully neglectful or mean," Woodman added. "If she (the dog) was allowed to live longer than she should have, it was simply because he and his family had a very difficult time parting with her."
Still, the emails and calls continued to roll in. Worse, the Facebook posts included a wrong address. Montgomery, the police chief, said the person whose address was mistakenly listed had filed a harassment complaint, though he wasn't sure of the details Friday evening.
Neither Bradley nor his mother could be reached for comment Friday evening.
The Facebook postings were removed as of Friday and could not be seen by the Pioneer Press.
Regardless, "I was busy all day with emails. I didn't get the chance to answer the phone today," Montgomery said Friday.
"I got emails from all over the world -- from Canada, Australia. Somebody in Switzerland called me," Gallagher said. "A woman from a private number called and threatened to kidnap my dog -- said if I wasn't a responsible dog owner, then obviously my dog was not in a safe place."
On Friday, he said he took three-quarters of a day off from work to make sure nobody came to his house.
But as for Newport residents, the response has been supportive, Gallagher said.
"They weren't irate at all," he said. "I think they were skeptical (of the Facebook post) in the first place. They're not going to think we're trying to cover anything up, unlike some guy in Florida."
Although city officials' responses seemed to have dampened the flow of vitriol for now, Gallagher and Montgomery worry that things will pick up again Monday.
"I tried to let people know this isn't what it seems like," Gallagher said. "I got quite a lot of folks to back off because of that.
"But I wasn't able to convince everyone."
Added Montgomery, "Unfortunately, with the Internet, it's still out there somewhere."
Tad Vezner can be reached at 651-228-5461 or follow him on Twitter @SPnoir.
via www.twincities.com/washingtoncounty/ci_24293893/newport-facebook-post-about-maltreated-dog-takes-life
"I have never had this experience before. It went crazy everywhere," Newport council member Steven Gallagher said. "It reminded me how in grade school when you tell a secret at the beginning of the class, and at the end, everything's wrong."
The calls came in response to an erroneous Facebook post about a dispute between a Newport dog owner and some tree trimmers. On Tuesday, in the 1000 block of Fourth Street, the trimmers saw an emaciated dog lying on its side in a nearby yard and took a photo.
They argued with the mother of the dog owner -- who called police when the trimmers came on her property.
"The two (tree trimmers) felt the dog was being maltreated and tortured and chose to confront her. The lady did not appreciate the concern and verbal lashing she received," stated a police report on the incident.
But the officer soon discovered the dog -- which was being given food, water and medication -- had Cushing's disease, which causes dramatic muscle wasting. And the 13-year-old pitbull mix was being cared for by a vet.
He told the owner, Mike Bradley, that it was likely time to put it down -- but, according to Newport Police Chief Curt Montgomery, "The officer didn't remove the dog so the owner could bring the dog into the vet. The dog would be less afraid or frightened than if a stranger had brought her into the vet."
That was Tuesday.
On Wednesday, it became clear to council members that one of the tree trimmers -- whose names were not available Friday evening -- had posted a photo of the dog on Facebook, reportedly alleging animal abuse. It in turn was reposted and shared thousands of times, and the outrage began rolling in.
Gallagher estimated receiving 500 emails, 110 Facebook messages and several dozen phone calls by fFriday -- most citing the "clear animal abuse," wondering why the city hadn't acted and alleging a coverup. Chief Montgomery estimated hundreds of emails, as well.
Gallagher, wondering what was going on, called police.
On Wednesday evening, police returned to the address, saw the dog on the couch and again noted it was being fed and given clean water. Again, he tried to persuade the dog owner to put it down. This time, he was successful.
"I do want to make clear that Mike did work with us over the past year to diagnose and treat his dog as best he could," the dog's veterinarian, Jonathan Woodman of Town & Country Veterinary Services, stated in a letter to the chief. The letter also confirmed the dog's diagnosis of Cushing's disease and added that Woodman euthanized the dog Wednesday.
"I do not consider that he (the owner) was purposefully neglectful or mean," Woodman added. "If she (the dog) was allowed to live longer than she should have, it was simply because he and his family had a very difficult time parting with her."
Still, the emails and calls continued to roll in. Worse, the Facebook posts included a wrong address. Montgomery, the police chief, said the person whose address was mistakenly listed had filed a harassment complaint, though he wasn't sure of the details Friday evening.
Neither Bradley nor his mother could be reached for comment Friday evening.
The Facebook postings were removed as of Friday and could not be seen by the Pioneer Press.
Regardless, "I was busy all day with emails. I didn't get the chance to answer the phone today," Montgomery said Friday.
"I got emails from all over the world -- from Canada, Australia. Somebody in Switzerland called me," Gallagher said. "A woman from a private number called and threatened to kidnap my dog -- said if I wasn't a responsible dog owner, then obviously my dog was not in a safe place."
On Friday, he said he took three-quarters of a day off from work to make sure nobody came to his house.
But as for Newport residents, the response has been supportive, Gallagher said.
"They weren't irate at all," he said. "I think they were skeptical (of the Facebook post) in the first place. They're not going to think we're trying to cover anything up, unlike some guy in Florida."
Although city officials' responses seemed to have dampened the flow of vitriol for now, Gallagher and Montgomery worry that things will pick up again Monday.
"I tried to let people know this isn't what it seems like," Gallagher said. "I got quite a lot of folks to back off because of that.
"But I wasn't able to convince everyone."
Added Montgomery, "Unfortunately, with the Internet, it's still out there somewhere."
Tad Vezner can be reached at 651-228-5461 or follow him on Twitter @SPnoir.
via www.twincities.com/washingtoncounty/ci_24293893/newport-facebook-post-about-maltreated-dog-takes-life
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