Last month I shared a bone of contention about increasing numbers of unleashed dogs roaming about. I was surprised by the number of national pet publications that picked up the column. I was even more surprised by the numbers of people who took the effort of digging up my contact information to call or e-mail me their own canine confessions. Seems the story hit a collective nerve.

Frankly, it reminds me of the time my car was stolen from my driveway. As a Good Samaritan I went around several blocks of the neighborhood warning neighbors to be on guard. I was amazed to discover just how many others had had their vehicles likewise stolen. Seems, too, dog attacks are more commonplace than I would have imagined. Sadly, some folks even told me they now hesitate walking their own neighborhoods.

Here’s some newly garnered tips sent me. A number of dog-owners claimed that their pets had been saved from possible demise by leather or nylon collars that impeded a deadly neck hold. One fellow suggested carrying a lighter, which, guaranteed, will send any creature, four legged or two legged, running. For the tender amongst you, there is the ultrasound dazer which works at 15 feet and leaves no permanent harm. Disclaimer, though; even the ads disclose that they don’t work with all dogs, including deaf, docile, infirm and highly trained ones.

Note, I previously mentioned the idea of carrying an expandable billy-club. I heard, though, from a police officer that they are legal in 49 other states but are not sold in California. I also would like to clarify that pepper spray is limited to three ounces of individual possession, which might be a limited amount if you got attacked by a pack.

Incidentally, one person related the story of a pit bull springing from a group of drifters hanging out behind the gas station adjacent to Starbucks on A Street. The dog had seized his pet’s neck and was close to a kill before the owner was able to unload his can of mace pepper gel. The attacker went scurrying. It was grabbed by the vagrants who hastily jumped into a truck and sped off. Interestingly, this fellow had used pepper gel twice on humans; once with a mugger and once when he interrupted a teen who was attacking an Oakland librarian.

Feeling squeamish? I assure you, the discomfort of analyzing protection strategies is tame compared to seeing your beloved pet, or your own fond body, torn to shreds. An ounce of prevention, or in the case of spray three, is worth a pound of cure.

Walter Ruehlig

Last week the Antioch Police Officers Association agreed to working under existing contract concessions until March lst, a win-win situation for sworn officers whose jobs were on the line and Antioch residents.

APOA, however, to date has not agreed to pay an employee share toward their 3% at age 50 retirement pension benefit, unlike other city employee groups whose concessions are helping keep our ship afloat.

The downturn in the economy has affected state, county and city coffers. California is especially hard hit, a direct result of punitive tax policies. Compared with the rest of the states, as of December 2010 we have the 2nd highest unemployment rate in the nation, the highest state sales tax in the nation , the highest corporate income tax west of the Mississippi except for Alaska, the 3rd worst state income tax, the 4th highest capital gains tax, the highest gasoline tax and the lowest bond ratings of any state.

APOA should note, however, that as of Monday the California Supreme Count ruled against Local 188 of the International Association of Firefighters who sued after Richmond laid off 18 firefighters during a fiscal crisis in 2003 arguing that the city didn’t bargain the need for the layoff. The ruling allows public entities to lay off workers for economic reasons but must bargain severance terms, order of layoff, effects on workload etc.

Let’s hope this doesn’t happen in Antioch. We have the highest regard for our sworn officers and deplore the fact that as of today’s date, 14 police officers in our country have lost their lives in the line of duty since January 1, 2011.

One of the best kept secrets in our city of Antioch is that we have a professional theater company in Rivertown!  The four year old Hapgood Theatre Company’s latest show, a musical revue entitled, “Side by Side by Sondheim” opened last Friday evening at the Nick Rodriguez Theater. The show runs Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00pm and Sunday’s at 2:00pm through February 6^th.  For a bit more than the cost of going to a movie we can enjoy live theater in our own town.  No need to go ‘over the hill’ for an evening of quality entertainment! 

Whether or not you are familiar with the name Stephen Sondheim you’re probably familiar with many of his songs, and definitely with his lyrics.  For example, Sondheim wrote all the lyrics for the musical “West Side Story” and “Gypsy.” 

The four person extremely talented cast includes Kelly Ground, Juliet Heller, Stewart Lyle and Erez Shek and the production was directed by Jeremy Messmer.  You may purchase tickets online at www.HapgoodTheatre.org, at the box office before a performance or by calling 925-219-8545.

Next up, from March 4^th through March 20^th is “The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged).” This is an uproarious fast-paced 90 minute romp through the Bard’s plays!  It has been said that if you like Shakespeare you’ll like this show, if you HATE Shakespeare you’ll LOVE this show!

Bonni Bergstrom

Hapgood Theatre Board member

Antioch’s third annual celebration of Martin Luther King Day, held this year at the Deer Valley High School auditorium, gave pause for stock-taking Antioch’s report card of tolerance and embraced diversity.  If you are swayed by TV and San Francisco print dailies, aggressive outsider advocacy groups, and a cluster of criminally-investigated citizens turned civil litigants, Antioch could appear dismally failing. It’s habitually smeared as a bastion of bigotry.

The proof, though, is in the pudding. We might start by asking, who do the good citizens of Antioch choose to lead them?  Our former Mayor, Mary Rocha, is Latino, as were council members Manny Soliz and Ralph Hernandez.  Reggie Moore, who recently lost a reelection bid, was defeated by a fellow African-American, top vote getter Wade Harper.  On the school board side of the ledger, Wade Harper moved on and African American Teri Lynn Shaw was defeated.  Tellingly, our two comprehensive high schools have Latino Louie Rocha and African American Clarence Isadore at the helm.  Our former A.U.S.D. Superintendent, Deborah Sims, is African American.  Two recent Antioch Citizens of the Year, Gary Gilbert and Iris Archuleta are African American. My wife, Cynthia., a Filipino-American, won 2/3 of the Antioch vote on her way to County Board Trusteeship. Seems, then,  the bigot designation simply doesn’t reconcile with Antioch’s  track record.

This isn’t a new idea. In fact, back in February 1993, former Police Chief Dave Lewis announced what he ironically called a Service Enhancement Program. The announcement informed residents that 1) the State of California was in a financial crisis “with no end in sight” resulting in a reduction of its financial obligations to counties and cities. 2) calls for service were continuing to increase at the rate of approximately 7% annually, while staffing had not increased over the past 3 years, resulting in too much volume for existing staffing levels. 

Chief Lewis went on to state that “Out of 16 cities our size in California, we have the fourth highest crime rate and a population that grows by 25,000 a year: Despite that, we haven’t been able to hire any additional officers for the past three years and don’t expect to be able to hire more for another two or three years.”   
 
His solution was to create a Community Oriented Policing Program, allowing officers to get back into the community and become a resource for handling problems more effectively. Additionally, the new program would reduce the need for officer response to calls that were no-lead or low priority in nature by documenting the call for service by creating a report via phone/computer, or by mail. 

One has to ask why Antioch appears to be suffering more than some neighboring cities. Fiscal mismanagement? While it’s true that the city is suffering from an overall economic downturn, the writing was on the wall a few years back and trimming the budget and negotiating contracts with all employee groups requiring they pay a share of retirement cost should have been initiated then.

But divert tax dollars from schools, police, fire

Governor Jerry Brown has announced his intention to abolish redevelopment agencies statewide which divert about $6 billion annually (12% of property taxes statewide) from public services such as schools, police and fire protection. Details will be forthcoming.

The goal of redevelopment law, approved by voters in 1952, was to eliminate blight, promote economic development and provide affordable housing. The way it works is that, when a property is designated as a redevelopment area, a base year property tax is established and from then on tax increments, which normally would have gone to cities, counties and vital public services (school districts taking the biggest hit), are diverted, going instead to payment of long term bonds issued by the agencies to finance projects.

The City of Antioch’s Development Agency (ADA) was formed in June 1974 for the purpose of renovating designated areas within the City limits.

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The popular lyrics, “Who let the dogs out?” once brought grins. Now, it”s more likely to solicit my grimace. After my dog, Sebastian, was attacked twice in the last month those words take on a darker meaning.

These incidents come on the heels of an Antioch friend witnessing their beloved pet mauled to death in front of their home by a pit bull a few months back. Add some chilling statistics: Nationally, reported dog attacks doubled in the last fifteen years, topping one million people yearly. Over one third, one thousand people daily, end up in emergency wards; half of them with face bites.

An estimated 27,000 dogs live in Antioch. About 40% of all households own one or more dogs. Here’s the tale of two; more precisely, of two Masters. It’s fascinating what you learn about human character and psychology from reaction to their dog attacking.

Exhibit #1: My wife was finishing her morning walk when a large pit bull bounded out of an open door. It chased her and our pooch down the street, bloodying our lasha apso’s legs, who resembles the mop-haired Benji.

Sadly, nobody came out of their house or waiting car to help. When I rang the owner’s doorbell minutes later nobody answered. Allegedly, he was in the shower. Sadly, a handful of times previously the dog was either unleashed or had lunged at my wife, myself or neighbors from an inappropriately long leash tethered to a tree. Habitually, the owners took a cavalier attitude.

Hence, I called Animal Control. The dog was impounded that day. Being the first inflicted injury, the dog was released. I understand, though, that a fine and warnings were levied.

Exhibit #2. A couple of weeks later Sebastian was attacked around the block by a small but unrelenting Snauzer. It took the owner minutes to come out and corral the dog, who was unfazed by a score of my kicks. Sebastian was uninjured but in a state of shock for nearly an hour.

I returned to talk to the owners and was pleasantly surprised. They apologized profusely saying that they had spent hundreds on training with no issues until their dog, too, had been attacked twice in the last month. They offered to pay any vet bills. That night they came by asking about our dog’s condition and delivering a restaurant gift card and doggie toy.

Two distressing incidents; two markedly different owner reactions.

Lessons learned:

I now document any and all incidents with phone calls (779-6989) and letters to Animal Control, copy furnished the owners. Be part of the solution or Antioch will go to the dogs.

I’ve learned strategy. An approaching slow gait is friendly, a steady-on run signals trouble; head down o.k, level -headed approach not. Of course, never run, panic, move or scream violently. Stand still and don’t confront. Dogs take staring as a threat, a sideways posture as a calming signal.

If you are trying to separate dogs, your safety is preeminent. If water is nearby, douse them. Also, lifting hind legs or tails disorients them.

We now carry protection. Consider a putter, umbrella, or expandable billy club. Dogs will take appendages as your extension. Distance matters. Mace, dog or pepper spray deter. Learn their use. They make this stuff for bears, so it works.

If you are jumped on, painful as it seems, don’t tear yourself away. Pulling only causes greater damage. If you have outerwear use it to extend. If needed, offer a leg or arm. Protect the fingers and face by making fists and covering your head. If knocked down, curl up in a fetal position protecting the head. Motionless is best. God willing, the attacker should quickly lose interest.

If you fight back, realize that a general head blow will, invariably, further infuriate. Instead, strategically aim for the nose or base of neck. Remember, too, dogs don’t wrestle. Turning them over and compressing your weight will cause them discomfort, if not broken bones. This is no time to be soft-hearted.

In short, be knowledgeable and document.

The attack tips are unnerving but, hopefully, sharing them can, perhaps, save somebody serious injury.

My wish for you, though, is that you never need this advice because most of your neighborhood dogs have the temperment of Lassie. For those that don’t, may their owners have the sense to act accordingly.

Happy t(r)ails!

Walter Ruehlig

CORRECTION – The standoff continues. Regrettably, a few hours after the posting of my first Watchdog column, I received an e-mail from Antioch City Manager Jim Jakel informing me that, unlike police management, the Antioch Police Officers Association (APOA) has NOT yet agreed to contribute to any part of their generous 3% at age 50 retirement package. The City of Antioch continues to pay the WHOLE tab, although APOA does have a reduced Medical after Retirement benefit for new hires. Nor has there been final agreement in regard to pay deferrals. Other employee groups, however, have a second lower tier.

Later this month the Antioch City Council will receive an update from City Manager Jim Jakel in regard to the need for an additional $737,000 cut in the budget. Negotiations, however, with the Antioch Police Officers Association are proving successful.

Police managers, who currently pay nothing into their retirement account, have now agreed to pay a 9% share, which will be phased in over the next few years. Additionally, the six officers given a layoff notice last month will be retained, paid for with non-city funds, including a $100,000 contribution by Auto Center owner Tom Nokes.

Understandably, the police officers union continues to have issues with the current understaffing and employee compensation. APOA didn’t receive a raise last year and has deferred the raise they were due to receive in January. Regrettably, their displeasure lead to the posting of an angry YouTube video and distribution of flyers giving out email addresses and phone numbers of council.

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