TM

11/9/06 [NY Times]

Owner and Dog Undone Over a Fence Unseen

By COREY KILGANNON

12/20/07 {The Beacon}

Pets, Pets, Pets

by Joanne Anderson

Don’t be fooled by the quaint veneer this quiet village on Long Island Sound, warned Mitchell Stein, a local lawyer. Don’t be fooled by the fishing boats bobbing in the shimmering harbor, or the wholesome-looking malt shop, or the good schools, leafy lanes and well-tended homes and lawns. “This place is as un-American as you can get,” Mr. Stein said. His disenchantment with Northport — and with suburban life in general — boils down to one thing: the electric fence, an invisible dog-confinement system that delivers warning signals and shocks through a special collar when a dog approaches a property’s edge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa and sometimes he comes disguised as a State Supreme Court Judge. Duke will be home for the holidays. The Pit Bull spent the last 4 Christmases in court-ordered solitary awaiting a death sentence for a crime supporters say he did not commit. Thanks to a Brooklyn Appellate Court decision, Duke is now free to return to his family. Forget champagne. I brought filet mignon to Duke's release from Islip Shelter for a victory celebration long overdue.

Duke's time is running out - and Jeff Kolbjornsen would give anything to just throw away the hourglass. Kolbjornsen, 46, founder and owner of Elite Animal Trainers in Islip Terrace, recently developed an avocation for saving death-row dogs named Duke.

The first, a 1-year-old bulldog from East Meadow who tagged along with two Rottweilers when they mauled a 4-year-old boy in April, was spared. But the other Duke - an amber-eyed pit bull who accosted this reporter with slobbery kisses - is slated to be euthanized Friday.

Dog trainer says death row rulings were unjustified

BY DENISE FLAIM

Newsday Staff Writer

August 22, 2006

TM

Copyright 2010 New York’s Dog Whisperer All rights reserved.

Designed and Hosted by: Simply Dynamic Creative Services