First an update on the latest filing in the court case. A brief was filed by attorney Carol Neelley in opposition to the latest motion filed by Solare’s attorney to reopen the 2004 case and set aside the default judgment. It was terse and to the point in legal terms, basically stating that the first motion was dismissed on solid legal grounds both in the substance of the court’s finding of jurisdiction in 2004 and that 20 years is way too late to file such a motion.

The meeting took place last Sunday and was generally positive and some of us did agree to pursue forming a neighborhood association. Representatives of Paws to the Wall showed up and discussion about the sanctuary did end up dominating the more than it should have to the point that the meeting ended before we dived more deeply into the underlying land grab by Ariana Solare which is one of the primary motivations for reforming our neighborhood association which went defunct in the 1990s. We did review the county requirements for a neighborhood association and agreed to form it according to those guidelines and pursue recognition by the county. We also agreed to further meetings in the next few weeks to deal with a mission statement and incorporating the association. Apart from dogs and the sanctuary, the issues of trash, squatting, noise, bright lights at night and abandoned property in derelict condition were also discussed in addition to the ongoing land grab attempt.

Now, I’m going to go into op-ed mode in response to the comments in the last post. These comments are a pretty good echo of what was discussed at the meeting. It’s time for both sides to tone it down and try to see the other sides perspective.

From one side, lets not forget the big picture of the land grab and get hung up on dogs. As annoying as the barking might be, it’s petty in comparison to the main issue of Solare’s land grab attempt. Having these people here is a vast improvement from Solare. Unlike Solare, they are willing to engage with the community and are operating the sanctuary transparently. They are looking for a new location and are willing to help with general dog problems we have here while they are here. They are committed to their rescue work and in general I have a positive personal impression of all the people involved with Paws to the Wall. I think it would be better to work with them on this and some effort was made at the meeting to do this.

From the other, don’t feel that forming a neighborhood association is all about getting you out, it’s not. One of the things that did come up in the meeting is that Paws to the Wall is actually paying rent to Solare. I have to say that if I had left nine difficult dogs in your care that couldn’t be adopted and you were helping to maintain my house by living in it while I’m gone, I wouldn’t be charging you no rent. I have a friend that does house sitting and pet care for absent owners and I asked her what she’s paid to take care of other peoples dogs which are generally very easy dogs to deal with owned by well off people: “My house sitting fee is $85/day. Rover, the agency, keeps 20%. Holidays are $105/day”. Ariana could definitely be considered the queen of shitty deals and this shows her general tendency towards exploitation and financially milking it for every penny she can get. You are definitely pawns in her real estate game and paying her for it. You do realize that she doesn’t own the property, it’s a squat, and if you weren’t occupying it, any random squatter could take over the property and she wouldn’t be able to do a thing about it. Without the actual legal owner filing a complaint, a squatter can’t be evicted and we have two properties in our community in that situation that I know about. You should also be aware that you are dealing with some of the blow back to the way Solare treated the neighbors who opposed her and you have to continue to make the effort to reach out and demonstrate that you are not Solare and don’t operate the way she does. You did a fairly good job of it at the meeting and please continue to focus on the positive and not get into heated comment wars. I know it hurts that some people don’t want you here but that’s a reflection of their past history with Solare, not on you personally.

In writing this, I have some canine advisors who have given me the canine perspective on the issue. Most important of these is this guy here who we’ve nicknamed Tim, the timid pup. As far as we can tell, he came from the sanctuary and got out around the time Ariana left for Texas. When I asked him how he felt about his time there he said, “It sucked, I bolted and got out of there the first chance I got”. No he doesn’t speak English and I don’t speak dog, he’s told me this by his body language and general attitude towards life. He’s very skittish and he basically says with his body, “Don’t ever put me somewhere that I can’t get out of again”. He spends a lot of time around my house and I give him a place he can chill, water and treats. My neighbor feeds him along with his other dogs. He’s feral but friendly. He trusts me but I can’t touch him or even get too close to him unless I’ve got a treat for him. He is friendly towards me and even gets playful at times but, similar to other feral animals I’ve dealt with, he doesn’t want physical contact with humans.