People in one Oxford neighborhood want a neighbor’s 2-year-old German Shepherd removed from the community after it attacked and two women.
Karen Rand said she received a hysterical phone call from her friend, who said she was attacked by a dog.
When Karen walked around her Oxford neighborhood to find the dog, she saw it in a neighbor’s house. That was just before she was attacked, police said.
“the dog started barking as soon as he saw me, and all of the sudden the door broke open and he just lunged at me," Rand said.
Karen tried to run, but the dog bit her arm and leg to the point where she said she will undergo plastic surgery.
Animal control officers rushed to the scene, took the dog away and it will be quarantined for 14 days.
Rand said she wants the dog out of the community for good.
"he bit my neighbor’s son in the back of the neck and he also bit my son," she said.
She also wants an apology from her neighbor, who she said was once her friend.
"she hasn’t even called me, which I’m very surprised because we’ve been friends for nine years,” Rand said. “not even a, ‘How are you?’ nothing."
NBC Connecticut went to the dog owner’s house, but no one answered the door and a man who drove away from his house refused to comment.
The dog’s owner was cited for the incident, that still remains under investigation.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) – the subject of the best-selling nonfiction book “Zeitoun” about a nightmarish incarceration during Hurricane Katrina's aftermath has been accused of plotting to murder his ex-wife, her son and another man.
Abdulrahman Zeitoun, 54, faces charges of offering $20,000 to a fellow jail inmate in exchange for the killings. Zeitoun (pronounced Zeh-toon) has been jailed since late last month on charges that he beat his wife, Kathy Zeitoun, on a New Orleans street.
In the book by Dave Eggers, the Syrian-born businessman was described as a compassionate neighbor paddling a canoe through Katrina's floodwaters and helping people before being arrested on false charges of looting. he then was thrown into prison for a month on suspicion of being a terrorist.
He was charged Thursday on three counts of solicitation for murder, records show. On Friday, he was being held in Orleans Parish Prison on those charges, one charge of domestic abuse battery and one charge of violating a protective order, according to the sheriff's office.
According to a police report, a 42-year-old inmate named Donald Pugh told authorities on Monday that he was offered $20,000 by Abdulrahman Zeitoun to kill his ex-wife, her son and a third man described in the report as his ex-wife's boyfriend. Kathy Zeitoun said the third man was the husband of her longtime friend and not her boyfriend.
The police report said Abdulrahman Zeitoun instructed Pugh to call his ex-wife and ask to look at a home she had for rent in New Orleans. according to the report, Pugh was to be paid to kill the three at the rental property only if Abdulrahman Zeitoun's children did not show up at the house. the Zeitouns had four children together. the police report said Abdulrahman Zeitoun wanted Pugh to kill a 22-year-old son Kathy Zeitoun had with another man.
Pugh told detectives that Abdulrahman Zeitoun wanted the three killed while he was in jail “so he would not become a suspect,” the police report said.
Officials at the Jefferson Parish jail, where Pugh was transferred from New Orleans, said Pugh was released after posting bond on Tuesday on a charge of unauthorized use of a vehicle.
Abdulrahman Zeitoun was in jail with Pugh after he was arrested on July 25 and charged with beating his ex-wife in New Orleans.
Police said he threw her to the ground, beat her with his fists, struck her in the back with a tire iron and choked her. the report said an officer noted Kathy Zeitoun suffered injuries to her knees, face and arms. Abdulrahman Zeitoun fled after people intervened, the report said.
Later that day, Zeitoun turned himself in to authorities and was arrested.
He also was charged with violating a protective order his ex-wife had against him. In March 2011, he was charged with domestic abuse battery and accused of beating Kathy Zeitoun in her home. the Zeitouns were divorced in February of this year.
Abdulrahman Zeitoun's lawyer could not be reached for comment.
In Eggers' book, Abdulrahman Zeitoun chose to stay in New Orleans as Katrina bore down to look after the his house and other properties the family owned. the Zeitouns had been married for nearly a decade and ran a busy house painting business.
After the levees failed and caused the flooding of New Orleans, he paddled through the floodwaters in a canoe helping stranded victims and feeding dogs.
Then he and three other men were arrested and falsely accused of looting even though they were at one of the Zeitouns' properties, according to Eggers' book.
Over the next month, Zeitoun was thrown first into a makeshift jail at New Orleans' Greyhound bus station and then transferred to a prison in St. Gabriel, La. he and another Muslim friend were accused of being members of al Qaeda before being released by Homeland Security officials.
Reached by telephone Friday, Kathy Zeitoun said her ex-husband more recently had become a much different person from the one described in the book with his behavior turning violent toward his family.
“Over time, it just started getting aggressive, more and more way out of hand,” she said. “He was a good man, he changed too much.”
She added that Eggers has given his support to her and “condemns what has happened.”
Her lawyer, Neil Montgomery, said she and her children were terrified and were in hiding. he added that Abdulrahman Zeitoun also threatened his ex-wife and daughter in June with a screwdriver because he was upset at his daughter for wearing shorts.
“Hopefully he won't get out (of jail),” he said. “He clearly wants to kill her (his wife), or have her killed.”
Eggers won critical acclaim and awards after his book was published in 2009. recently film maker Jonathan Demme has said he was interested in turning the book into an animated film.
The two artists issued a statement saying they were “profoundly saddened by the recent events” involving the Zeitouns. they said they had been in daily contact with Kathy Zeitoun since the July 25 domestic abuse incident and that they were “shocked” by the solicitation for murder charges against Zeitoun.
Copyright 2012 the associated Press. All rights reserved. this material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
HOUSTON (AP) – The wife of a man who claimed Texas' version of a stand-your-ground law allowed him to fatally shoot a neighbor told jurors Tuesday her husband is very remorseful about the deadly incident.
Raul Rodriguez, 46, faces up to life in prison after being convicted of murder in the 2010 killing of Kelly Danaher.
“I hear him cry at night. I hear him have dreams and nightmares about what happened … it tears him up. He's not the same,” said Donna Rodriguez, one of the last witnesses to testify in the punishment phase of her husband's trial. both Rodriguez and his wife cried as she spoke.
Closing arguments in the punishment phase were set for Wednesday with jurors then expected to begin deliberating Rodriguez's sentence.
Rodriguez, a retired Houston-area firefighter, went to Danaher's home to confront him about the noise coming from a birthday party there. He got into an argument with Danaher, a 36-year-old elementary school teacher, and two other men who were at the party.
In a 22-minute video he recorded the night of the shooting, Rodriguez can be heard telling a police dispatcher “my life is in danger now” and “these people are going to go try and kill me.” He then said, “I'm standing my ground here,” and shot Danaher. The two other men were wounded. A jury convicted Rodriguez on June 13.
Rodriguez's reference to standing his ground is similar to the claim made by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer who is citing Florida's stand-your-ground law in his defense in the fatal February shooting of an unarmed teenager, Trayvon Martin. Rodriguez's case, however, was decided under a different kind of self-defense doctrine.
During the trial, prosecutors have portrayed Rodriguez as a neighborhood bully who took a gun to complain about loud music and could have safely walked away from the confrontation in Huffman, an unincorporated area about 30 miles northeast of Houston, any time before the shooting. Defense attorneys argued Rodriguez, who had a concealed handgun permit, was defending himself when one of the men lunged at him and he had less than a second to respond.
Prosecution witnesses, including former co-workers and neighbors, told jurors during the punishment phase that Rodriguez was abusive, a bad neighbor and once shot a dog.
Thirteen witnesses for Rodriguez have contradicted those claims, saying he was not abusive or a gun fanatic and that he shot the dog when it threatened his family.
Donna Rodriguez specifically denied claims that her husband had pulled a gun on his ex-wife and another neighbor over a different noise complaint, had been abusive to their children and that he walked around their neighborhood, including to a school bus stop to pick up their children, with his handgun in plain view, intimidating people.
Donna Rodriguez, who was being treated for breast cancer when the fatal shooting happened, also testified about her husband's service in the U.S. Navy, his work as a firefighter and how a work accident left him disabled with injuries to his neck, spine, shoulder and back. She also testified her husband got along with his neighbors and once rushed to the aid of one who had suffered a heart attack.
She was the last defense witness. Prosecutors presented two rebuttal witnesses, including Rodriguez's ex-wife, Ginger Rodriguez, who claimed the former couple's son, 18-year-old Daniel, had not been truthful when he testified for his father on Monday. She did not go into specific statements, however.
Texas' version of a stand-your-ground law is known as the Castle Doctrine. it was revised in 2007 to expand the right to use deadly force. The new version allows people to defend themselves in their homes, workplaces or vehicles. it also says a person using force cannot provoke the attacker or be involved in criminal activity at the time. Legal experts say the expansion in general gave people wider latitude on the use of deadly force.
Copyright 2012 The associated Press. all rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
If you are not going to help her with her children, then damn, leave her alone. God knows, if I had the funds meaning employed, I would certainly be here for her. There’s nothing like “Kicking someone when they are already down. so what whe wanted a big family? Damn you people. I am not saying she made a good choice to get pregnant, but the beautiful children are here, now what? It amazes me how you can judge this woman. the integrity, love your neighbor’s, moral’s has gone out the window for human’s. if your azz cannot or will not help this mom, then mind your damn business and stop making life more difficult for her. she probably needed to get her hair done to feel better and what’s wrong with that you idiot. Ms. Mom, if oneday I do get on my feet, I will certainly help you. There are so many people out there with millions but would rather buy five and ten cars and a mansion with one person living in it. what has become of American’s? I am ashame that woman had the nerve to try to separate your family like giving them to the system is the answer. no this is not the answer. give her help. my heart goes out to you mother of 14. we all in life make foolish mistakes, but not saying your children are a mistake, but I am saying that I wish we as American’s would be more kind to you instead of trying to make money of your failures. God Bless you and your family mom of 14 and the one with the mote beaming in your eyes, mind your business or help out.
Posted by: Annie Mae | April 25, 2012, 3:23 pm 3:23 pm
Jing Qu, 55, of Flushing, N.Y., was arrested in connection with performing illegal surgical procedures.
A New York woman who is accused of performing unlicensed plastic surgery in the Las Vegas Valley — eye lifts — has had her preliminary hearing delayed for about two weeks.
Jing Qu, 55, of Flushing , N.Y., who authorities say was doing surgery in the living room of a southwest valley home, was to have had the hearing this morning. but at the request of attorneys, it was reset for 8 a.m. April 10 in Las Vegas Justice Court.
Qu, who is out of custody on $100,000 bail, has been charged with one count of burglary and two counts of practicing medicine without a license for performing eye lifts and injections on two women.
According to Metro police, officers responded Nov. 7, 2011, to a home in the 7700 block of Somerhill Point Way after receiving a phone call from a neighbor who reported the surgery.
The neighbor had gone over to the home to complain about a vehicle blocking a driveway and saw three people inside the home performing surgery, police said.
According to a police report, when officers arrived they saw a portable padded massage table set up in the living room and saw one bloody latex glove on the living room floor and another in the bathroom.
Officers also said they saw that the homeowner, Ping Zhang, had a bandage over her right eye, the police report said.
Officers then made contact with a second woman, Hong Sheng, who had stitches above both eyebrows and had dried blood on her forehead, the arrest report said.
Sheng told officers that she knew Qu from their home town of Bejing, China, and had paid Qu $800 for an eyelift surgical procedure. Sheng said Qu injected her with a substance for pain before the procedure, the arrest report said.
Zhang told police she paid Qu $1,000 for her eye lift surgery, and that Qu had injected her with a painkiller prior to the procedure, according to the arrest report.
Through a Mandarin Chinese interpreter, Qu told police she was a physician in China who specialized in plastic surgery but was not licensed to practice medicine in the U.S., according to the arrest report.
During a search of the home, police uncovered medical items such as gauze, hemostats and surgical blades, police said. Police said they also found local anesthetics and other unknown medications, many of which were labeled in Chinese.
My name is Michelle, and I’m a cat lady. I didn’t set out to find myself in a position where I was feeding ten cats, but it happened. a few months ago, I was living a relatively normal life with a relatively normal number of cats. But when my husband and I and our two cats moved into our new house there was one thing that the previous owners had failed to mention on the list of disclosures – an assortment of stray, feral, and neighbor cats hanging out in our backyard. It started innocently enough; I put out food for the neighbor cat that visited most often, but one day I turned around and looked out my patio door to find a mom cat and her three tiny kittens helping themselves. our two cats soon found themselves sharing the house with them, and eventually another handful of orphaned kittens.
After countless vet visits, minor medical emergencies, and a lot of canned food, we’ve since adopted out all but three of the cats we found. Pet ownership isn’t cheap when you have a reasonable amount of furry friends, and it can get downright burdensome when you’re looking to feed, fix, and vaccinate a plethora of pets. here are some of the things I did to curb my spending.
1. Take your Kitty to a low Cost Clinic
There’s no excuse to not get your cats spayed and neutered. In addition to keeping your pet population from getting out of hand, cats that get fixed wander less and are therefore less likely to get injured by cars or other animals.
But it’s surgery, and even kitten sized surgery is expensive. I took advantage of a low cost spay and neuter clinic, Spay Neuter Project of Los Angeles. Their regular prices are almost $100 less than what my local veterinarian wanted to charge, and when I got my cats fixed they were running a summer special that knocked neutering down to just $15 and spaying to $25. there are similar services all over the country, many which offer even further discounts for low income families or vouchers for a free spay/neuter if you adopt from the pound.
Many of these same clinics offer low cost vaccinations too! before you take your cats to the vet for routine vaccines, see what’s available in your area.
2. be Proactive at the Vet
If you have a ton of cats, you’ll get to know your vet pretty well. It never hurts to see if you might qualify for a discount; my vet offered 10% off services because my cats were rescued. It might also help to bring more than one pet in at a time; some veterinarians offer a discounted office visit rate if they can see more than one pet at a time.
It also never hurts to ask about what you’re actually paying for on your vet bill. before any treatments were given, I asked to see the invoice to see the breakdown of costs. I found that my vet was going to charge $15 to apply the same flea medication I could apply at home.
Just like human doctors, if you’re unsure about an expensive treatment or surgery, it’s a good idea to get a second opinion. a $40 office visit might save you hundreds in bills! of course, you shouldn’t skimp on an important treatment or surgery just to save money. If your cats are getting a little older, you might want to consider getting pet insurance.
3. Don’t give away Kittens for Free
If you’re looking to adopt out kittens or cats, consider asking for a nominal fee to cut some of your costs. It will also keep people from making rash decisions about taking a free kitten that they might not be able to care for.
4. stop Spoiling your Cat
I used to be guilty of letting my two oldest cats eat as much as they wanted, and they got overweight. not only is this an inefficient way to dole out food, cats that are overweight have more medical problems and shorter lifespans. they lost weight – and I didn’t spend as much money – when I started to actually measure out what they ate. If your cats continue to beg, consider getting an automatic feeder. although it’s an investment, it teaches your cat to disassociate you from food – I promise they’ll still love you anyway.
When you get a new cat it may be tempting to shower it with gifts like toys and beds, but experienced cat owners will tell you that their cats’ favorite hideouts and playthings didn’t come from a pet store. instead of a pricey bed, check out baskets or lidless storage boxes from discount or second hand stores. My cats love playing with plastic bottle caps or even crumpled up paper.
5. Shop around for Kitty Accessories
Compare prices in your neighborhood pet and grocery stores to find the best places to pick up food and litter. If you’re looking for things like carriers and play structures, you might be able to find them cheap on craigslist. and of course, don’t forget to check out our pets category on Ultimate Coupons!
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By CAIN BURDEAUAssociated Press
By JUAN A. LOZANOAssociated Press
