Ms. Yang, a Chinese from Castro Valley in East Bay, said on August 3 that her dog was gored by a deer’s antlers in the backyard of her rental house. Because I didn’t understand English, I didn’t take him to see a doctor in time. While walking the dog on July 14, a neighbor saw the dog limping and called the police. Alameda Co. County police came and initially told her through an interpreter that they would not arrest her, but later they handcuffed her and detained her for two days and one night. The pet dog was also taken away by the animal protection department.
Ms. Yang will appear in court on the 12th.
According to the notice, Ms. Yang was arrested because she did not take her dog to the veterinarian. She spent 1,300 yuan in handling fees and asked the bail company to invest 10,000 yuan to bail her out. He still has to go to court on August 12. Her landlord, Robert Battinich, works as a Blue Angel volunteer in Oakland Chinatown and has always volunteered to help the Chinese. He decided to speak up and testify for Ms. Yang in court.
Alameda Co. County police spokesman Ray Kelly told this newspaper that Ms. Yang was taking care of pets and was charged with felony animal cruelty. She may not go to jail, but will face fines and other penalties.
The previously injured dog Angela. (Video screenshot)
Ms. Yang said that her neighbor and her landlord had a long-standing quarrel, and they kept a close eye on her and complained about her violations several times. She rents a detached house with two other friends and has two dogs and a cat. In fact, both dogs were taken care of on behalf of friends, and the injured one was named Angela. From May to June, I sometimes take the dog out for a walk. I will pat the dog with my palms, touch the dog with my feet, or lift the dog to play. Neighbors will call the police if they see it. In early July, she was playing with her dog in the garage. Because dogs usually don’t bark, but they will bark when they hear the sound of a police car. So she made a sound like a police car and played with the dog. As a result, the dog screamed, and the neighbor heard it and thought she was abusing the dog. After calling the police, the police came to inquire.
On July 11, she heard screams in the backyard and ran out to check. I found a big deer running over and just in time to gore the dog Angela. The dog is lying on its side. It was nothing serious at the time. A day later, the dog's right hind foot became swollen. She originally wanted to take her dog to see a doctor, but because she didn't speak a word of English, she didn't know how to make an appointment. I also saw that the dog could walk, so I didn’t pay much attention to it.
Ms. Yang’s backyard has been damaged by deer many times, and it is often repaired.
Angela was frightened by the deer and no longer wanted to go to the backyard to relieve herself. I held it in for three days in a row and saw the dog working so hard. Ms. Yang decided to take the dog for a walk to see if the dog could defecate. Unexpectedly, not long after taking the dog out, a neighbor saw her limping and suspected that she was abusing the dog and called the police again.
Ms. Yang remembers that at the beginning, six county police officers from Alameda Co. came over. And called Ms. Yang out to understand the situation. They said through an interpreter that they would not arrest me. But when I entered the house and saw the injured dog in the cage, I asked why I locked the dog up. The problem is, the dog door is unlocked. Later, the police asked me to go out again, this time without explaining the reason, and handcuffed my hands.
The arrest notice provided by Ms. Yang showed that the dog’s leg was injured and no veterinary treatment was provided. In addition, they had received several reports before that the police came to the home to conduct welfare checks.
Ms. Yang was detained for two days and one night. Later, through a Chinese police translator and an inmate's introduction, she contacted a bail company with a Chinese translator and invested 10,000 yuan to bail her out. In addition to the handling fee, her own cost is about 1,300 yuan. She also received a court notice and will appear in court on the 12th. I felt that I was wronged. It was not that I was abusing the dog. I just couldn’t take the dog to see a doctor because I didn’t understand English. Moreover, the dog’s condition also improved. For this reason, he was arrested as a criminal. Very ridiculous.
Chinese Ms. Yang installed a camera in the backyard, hoping to check the deer's situation through surveillance and use it as evidence in court. (Reporter Liu Xianxian/Photography)
Ms. Yang said that the initiator, the deer, regarded her backyard as its own home. It often jumped over, broke the fence many times, and repaired it several times. Sometimes dogs will bark in defiance, which may be the cause of a deer attack. In order to collect evidence, a new camera has been installed in the backyard, hoping to capture video of the deer jumping in, which can be used as evidence in court.
The landlord, Robert Battinich, said that he would testify for Ms. Yang in court. She could consider pleading not guilty and letting the jury decide. Some theft suspects were released due to the zero bail system. It is extremely ridiculous for a Chinese man to be prosecuted for not bringing his dog to see an injured person.
County police spokesman Kelly said this was a criminal case. After Ms. Yang's dog was injured, she refused to take her dog to see a doctor for two weeks. This resulted in the dog suffering so much pain that we had to call animal control to save the dog's life. Ms. Yang takes care of pet dogs. According to California law Penal Code - PEN § 597.1, she will be charged with felony animal cruelty, but she will not go to jail. She may be fined, have a criminal record and other penalties.
Kelly emphasized that there were Mandarin or Cantonese interpreters during the arrest and in court. We were dispatched because someone in the community called the police. We make arrests when we believe someone has committed a crime. Kelly said she understood Ms. Yang's difficulty in not speaking English, but no matter where she was or what language she spoke, when an animal is in pain, it must be helped to relieve its pain.