Posted on 06/13/2006 1:14:44 PM PDT by A. Pole
High-rise window washer Christopher Guay spent 20 hours in jail waiting for his wife to raise the $1,040 the state demanded to free him after he struck and killed a sea gull he says repeatedly dive-bombed at him as he was attempting to clean office windows.
Speaking exclusively to the Herald, Guay, 40 - who shares a home with his wife, 14 finches, two parakeets and several other species of birds - said he now fears the job he loves, hanging high above the Hub, is in jeopardy thanks to an overzealous MSPCA police officer.
[...]
He will be arraigned Tuesday on charges of animal cruelty, a felony.
[...]
Guay said he was working 12 stories up atop 185 Devonshire St. about 8:30 a.m. Friday when he was set upon by three sea gulls protecting a rooftop nest.
“They’d sit up about 20 feet, then dive in,” he said. “They hit me twice in the head.”
Guay said he moved to an attached roof at 161 Devonshire St., but the gulls followed. He eventually started swinging a broken broom handle, hoping to scare them off and give himself time to slip over the building’s edge and out of the birds’ sight.
“I’d been doing it all day, fending them off,” he said. “It was working until I made my last drop . . . When I swung I wasn’t aiming. I didn’t mean to hit it. It flew right into the broom stick. I knew it was dead.”
Office workers witnessing the 3:30 p.m. strike called the MSPCA, which responded with one of the agency’s 11 police officers.
[...]
Christopher Guay, who killed a seagull Friday, owns more than a dozen birds. (Staff photo by Faith Ninivaggi)
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bostonherald.com ...
This guy is facing up to five years in prison.
If it died instantly, there was no cruelty. He was protecting himself from attack..........
Can I be on the grand jury? I would indict the cop.
This building should be boycotted by all other window washers. Let's see the office workers go out on the ledge with a squeegie.
I guess the city has nothing better to do than to harass a hard working, tax-paying citizen.
Just wait 'til the Dems give animals the vote...
"I guess the city has nothing better to do than to harass a hard working, tax-paying citizen."
Add that to the kid who got arrested for killing a snake and you have a libtard's dream-state.
I read the story about the snake and could only shake my head in disgust. Around here you are expected to kill all snakes!
It looks to me like the MSPCA is just a bunch of 'money-grubbers' - all about making little rules and levying fines.
I'm with the person who said they would indict the 'cop'.
Not sure if you are kidding or not, but trust me, there are some who are pursuing exactly that!
"Around here you are expected to kill all snakes!"
Here, too. We used to walk along the bank of the lake at night with a spotlight, a.410 and a box of shells killing every moccasin we could find.
What if it died slowly?
Puleeeeeeeeeeeeeeese. Who do we call, or write, or email. This is ridiculous.
Barking moonbats.
questions@mspca.org
MSPCA Animal Care and Adoption Center
350 South Huntington Ave. • Boston, MA 02130
Phone (617) 522-5055
I was blown off by the info babe at MSPCA. I suggest we all contact our local SPCA and tell them no more support if this MSPCA cruelty is permitted to stand. I contacted mine in Erie County and told them "No future support unless a full apology and restitution for any financial loss to this man is made.
These various SPCA's have their own network and it is time all of us let them know they have gone too far.
He had every right to protect himself - that's all he was doing. This is nuts.
That would be silly. Most "SPCAs" are completely independent of each other. They don't all have the same policies, and I expect very few of them would see fit to waste their limited resources and public goodwill by pursuing an idiotic case like this.
As I read this, wasn't the man simply defending himself against animal attack?
Wouldn't this be akin to a person swatting bees as they try to pick flowers, or swatting 'skeeters while they fish?
I can't wait until some notifies the SPCA people to tell them that animals are being killed for food....
ping
Seagulls can be a nuisance. Five years in jail for killing one is ridiculous.
Before you demean someone's comments as "silly" do some research to prove your point. Most are NOT independent in their association with other SPCAs. Agreed they are more than likely independent in their finances.
You are misinformed.
From the ASPCA website:
http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pro_so_fastfacts
There are about 5,000 community animal shelters nationwide that are independent; there is no national organization monitoring these shelters. The terms “humane society” and “SPCA” are generic; shelters using those names are not part of the ASPCA or the Humane Society of the United States. Currently, no government institution or animal organization is responsible for tabulating national statistics for the animal protection movement.
From the website of the Richmond SPCA:
http://www.richmondspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ABOUT_AboutUs
Is the Richmond SPCA related to other SPCAs? Does it report to a national organization of any kind?
All SPCAs and other humane societies are independent, non-profit entities. Some of them may have a contract to perform the animal control function in which case they are both a private and a public entity. The Richmond SPCA has never done this. Organizations that identify themselves as SPCAs (societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals) were largely established in the late 1800s, when the humane movement was gaining in popularity, so the acronym SPCA was simply a common name at the time for a humane society.
From the York County (PA) SPCA's website:
http://www.ycspca.org/history.htm
The York County SPCA is an independent humane organization with no affiliation with other organizations including the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).
From the Central Texas SPCA's website:
http://www.centraltexasspca.com/index.php?topic=General
PLEASE NOTE: The Central Texas SPCA is *NOT* affiliated with the SPCA of Texas. SPCA's are not affiliated across the country and operate completely independent of each other. If you send donations to the ASPCA, for example, your donations stay in New York to help the pets of New York. If you donate to the Central Texas SPCA, your dollars are at work right here in your local community.
From the Virginia Beach SPCA's website:
http://www.vbspca.com/shelter_faq1.html
In fact, all SPCAs and humane societies are independent from each other, and each has different policies and programs. There is no national SPCA or humane society to which we report. While we are a member of some national and state-wide organizations, we are the shelter serving Virginia Beach and surrounding communities.
Sea gull = rats with wings
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.