Dog put in box, left on Mayor's doorstep
Irving, TX (US)Incident Date: Saturday, Apr 26, 2008
County: Dallas
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Alleged
Case Images: 1 files available
Alleged: Phillip Smith
Phillip Smith, the Irving postal carrier who said he placed a dog on Mayor Herbert Gears' doorstep last week, faces a Class A misdemeanor count of animal cruelty.
Mr. Smith, 53, was arrested and charged Friday morning. He posted $500 bail and was released. He did not return calls for comment.
Mr. Smith said this week that he was fed up with loose dogs when he placed a neighbor's Chihuahua in a box on Mr. Gears' doorstep along with a note complaining about loose dogs and animal services with his name and phone number. The mayor called police last Saturday after he found the note and the box. There was no dog inside at the time.
The next day, Mr. Gears found an injured Chihuahua on his porch, took him to the vet for treatment of an apparent dog bite and named him Brownie. On Tuesday, Mr. Gears reunited the pup with his owners, who say his name is Rambo.
It was still unclear Friday how the dog became injured. According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Mr. Smith admitted to taping the dog inside the box and left it on the mayor's doorstep without food or water.
"The defendant also stated he was not sure when Mr. Gears would find the dog inside the box and he was surprised the dog was able to get out of the box," the affidavit stated.
The incident touched off political controversy after Mr. Gears attributed the action to a "crazy" election atmosphere. On Friday, Mr. Gears said that rhetoric from his political opponents provokes "these types of extreme action."
But Roland Jeter, one of Mr. Gears' challengers in the May 10 election, said he disagrees.
"I guess the same could be said back toward him because I've had some telephone threats," Mr. Jeter said. "I just consider it the emotion of the campaign. I don't make a big deal of it and just move on."
Cindy Flores, whose family owns Rambo, said this week she was disturbed by the incident. Calls to the home were not returned Friday.
Many of Mr. Smith's neighbors are collecting money for his legal defense fund. This week, Mr. Smith said he has complained about the dog's owners before.
"He just took it as long as he could take it," neighbor W.A. Warren said.
Mr. Gears said the dog should not have been used to prove a point.
"I just don't think the gentleman understood the implications of his actions toward the animal," Mr. Gears said. "It's abhorrent to subject an animal to a protest like this." References« TX State Animal Cruelty Map
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