deaths

[spaminator]

Some New York prison guards charged in beating death of handcuffed inmate appear in court
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Michael Hill And Michael R. Sisak
Published Feb 20, 2025 • Last updated 1 day ago • 4 minute read

DOCCS officers with Robert Brooks
This screenshot taken from New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) body camera footage shows DOCCS officers with Robert Brooks at Marcy Correctional Facility in Oneida County, New York on December 9, 2024 Photo by New York State Department of Corrections via the New York State Attorney General's Office /AFP via Getty Images
UTICA, N.Y. — Six New York prison guards have been indicted for second-degree murder in the beating death of an inmate who was handcuffed, while four corrections workers were charged with lesser crimes.


The beating of Robert Brooks by multiple officers at Marcy Correctional Facility in December was caught unintentionally on body-worn cameras, triggering widespread outrage and calls for justice.

Some of the corrections officers appeared in a Utica court in handcuffs while a judge heard pleas and considered bond.

Prison guards Nicholas Anzalone, David Kingsley, Anthony Farina, Christopher Walrath and Mathew Galliher were among the people charged with second-degree murder, according to court documents. The name of the sixth person was redacted because they’ll appear in court at a different time.

All six were also charged with first-degree manslaughter, meaning prosecutors believe they are criminally liable for the conduct of others.


The special prosecutor, Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, said Thursday that he’ll prove in court that the guards thought the body-worn cameras were off, raising concerns about a culture among guards in which a group beating of an inmate could be carried out with an apparent “sense of normalcy.”

Robert Brooks Jr., the victim’s son, said after witnessing court proceedings that those system issues must be rooted out, and higher authorities held accountable.

“These men killed my father, it was on video. The whole world got to see it. Waiting a month for these charges has been incredibly hard. But these men must be prosecuted and convicted of the crimes they made,” the younger Brooks said.

After some of the corrections officers were released, one man said, “This is not justice, judge — These people killed a Black man,” as he left the courtroom. One woman was removed after shouting “murder, murder.”


Body-camera video shows officers pummeling Brooks, whose hands are cuffed behind his back. Officers strike him in the chest with a shoe and lift him by the neck and drop him. The video recorded on the night of Dec. 9 has no sound, but the guards meting out the punishment and watching it appear unconcerned. Brooks, 43, died the next day.

An autopsy report issued by the county medical examiner’s office in January concluded that Brooks’ death was caused by compression of the neck and multiple blunt impact injuries and that the manner of death was determined to be a homicide, according to Brooks’ family attorneys.

Galliher, one of the corrections officers, was further charged with gang assault. Three other prison guards were charged with lesser manslaughter offences, meaning that prosecutors believe they did not commit murder, but were criminally responsible for the actions of others to some degree. They are Michael Mashaw, Michael Fisher and David Walters.


One worker, whose title was unclear, was charged with tampering with evidence.

Nicolas Gentile allegedly “cleaned the area of Robert Brooks’ blood stains in an effort to conceal” the assault, according to court documents.

Gov. Kathy Hochul first announced the murder charges early Thursday afternoon in a statement.

“Robert Brooks should be alive today. The brutal attack on Mr. Brooks was sickening, and I immediately moved to terminate the employment of those involved. Now, the perpetrators have been rightfully charged with murder and State Police are making arrests,” she said.

Hochul’s announcement of the murder charges came on the fourth day of a wildcat strike, in which at least some corrections officers are refusing to enter their shifts at 36 correctional facilities across the state, according to prison officials.


“This incident is a sobering reminder of the challenges facing our correctional system. I’ve worked with Commissioner Martuscello on safety reforms, including installing new security cameras, strengthening the Office of Special Investigations and increasing compensation for our hard-working correction officers,” she said in Thursday’s statement.

Hochul had ordered state officials to initiate proceedings to fire more than a dozen employees implicated in the attack on Brooks.

Brooks had been serving a 12-year prison sentence for first-degree assault since 2017. He arrived at the prison 320 kilometres northwest of New York City only hours before the beating after being transferred from another nearby facility, officials said.


Robert Brooks Jr. claimed in a federal lawsuit filed in January that his father’s attackers “systematically and casually beat him to death” and that the prison system tolerates violence.

Even before Brooks’ death, employees at the medium-security prison had been accused of abusing incarcerated people.

Fitzpatrick took over the case as a special prosecutor after state Attorney General Letitia James recused herself, citing her office’s representation of several implicated officers in separate civil lawsuits. Those employees had previously been accused of either taking part in previous beatings of inmates or letting them continue.

“It’s fortunate that video evidence of a callous murder made it possible for charges to be brought against these officers. For far too long, that evidence has not existed, making transparency and accountability out of reach,” said Jennifer Scaife, executive director of the Correctional Association of New York.

That watchdog group reported “rampant abuse by staff” at Marcy after interviewing people incarcerated there in October 2022, who told them of physical assaults in locations without cameras, such as between the gates, in vans and in showers. A guard told one new arrival that this was a “‘hands-on facility,’ we’re going to put hands on you if we don’t like what you’re doing,” according to the report.

— Sisak reported from New York. AP reporter Cedar Attanasio contributed from New York.

Some New York prison guards charged in beating death of handcuffed inmate appear in court

Six New York prison guards have been indicted for second-degree murder in the beating death of an inmate who was handcuffed.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Six elephants killed after train collides with herd in Sri Lanka
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Bharatha Mallawarachi
Published Feb 20, 2025 • 1 minute read

Police and railway personnel examine a derailed train
Police and railway personnel examine a derailed train at Habarana on February 20, 2025, which killed six elephants.
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — At least six elephants were killed when a passenger train hit a herd near a wildlife sanctuary in Sri Lanka, an official said on Thursday.


Four baby elephants and two adults died in the collision near Minneriya, about 200 kilometers (124 miles) from the capital, Colombo. The area is renowned for its nature park and wildlife, said Hasini Sarathchandra, a spokesman for the government’s wildlife department.

Local television channels showed the train engine and several compartments had derailed following the collision. No passenger was injured, said a railway official, who declined to be named as he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Sarathchandra said the wildlife department has commenced an investigation into the incident.

Minneriya National Park draws thousands of tourists each year hoping to see elephants in their wild habitats. It is part of the “elephant corridor” that connects Kaudulla and Wasgamuwa National parks.


Train collisions involving elephants have increased in recent years in Sri Lanka, with wild elephants attempting to cross over railway tracks in search of food and water. They are increasingly vulnerable because of the loss and degradation of their natural habitat and many venture closer to human settlements in search of food. Some are killed by poachers or farmers angry over damage to their crops.

According to government statistics, nine elephants died in 2024 after being knocked down by trains, compared with 24 in 2023.

Though elephants are revered in the Indian Ocean island nation, they are endangered with their numbers dwindling from about 14,000 in the 19th century to 6,000 in 2011, according to the country’s first elephant census.

Six elephants killed after train collides with herd in Sri Lanka

At least six elephants were killed when a passenger train hit a herd near a wildlife sanctuary in Sri Lanka

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

US winter flu deaths outpace Covid for first time in five years
Author of the article:Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
Jason Gale
Published Feb 20, 2025 • 2 minute read

(Bloomberg) — Influenza is overtaking Covid-19 as the deadlier virus in the US this winter — the first time in five years the seasonal illness has surpassed the pandemic pathogen.


Since Covid began spreading widely in early 2020, it has killed almost 42 times more people in the US than the flu. Yet preliminary mortality data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that 2025 is emerging as a pivotal year for influenza.

While fears about growing bird flu outbreaks are dominating headlines in the US, seasonal influenza has reached its highest levels in over 15 years and has now surpassed Covid-19 deaths for the past two months, according to Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious diseases specialist and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.

The CDC estimates the flu has made at least 29 million people sick, caused 370,000 hospitalizations and resulted in 16,000 deaths since October 2024. Meanwhile, mortality from Covid-19 has been declining, driven by immunity from vaccination and prior infections, as well as the evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which now causes less severe complications.


“Flu seasons fluctuate — some years are worse than others, and this is a particularly severe one,” said Chin-Hong. He pointed to a raft of factors behind the resurgence from low vaccination rates to delayed treatment, particularly in groups that aren’t typically thought of as high risk.

The season has been dominated by H1N1 and H3N2 strains, with the latter notorious for causing more severe illness.

Kids have been hit especially hard, due to poor vaccine uptake, while South America’s recent flu season points to the possibility of reduced efficacy of the shots, according to Chin-Hong. The vaccination rate for children aged 6 months to 17 years has dropped from 58% in January 2020 to just 45% by the end of January 2025.


However, the most pressing concern is the delayed diagnosis and treatment of cases, particularly among those at risk of developing pneumonia and other severe complications. “High hospitalization and death rates suggest that at-risk people are not being diagnosed early enough for antivirals like oseltamivir to be effective in preventing severe illness,” Chin-Hong said.

Barriers to prescribing oseltamivir, along with the need for better early detection, remain key challenges.

“We need to change the narrative that respiratory viruses only cause serious illness in older adults, as we saw with Covid,” he said. “Flu targets the very young as well.”

US winter flu deaths outpace Covid for first time in five years

Influenza is overtaking Covid-19 as the deadlier virus in the US this winter.

torontosun.com

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

NO VACCINES!

They cause autism. And they don't work anyhow. And they're all a great big plot to control us.

 

[spaminator]

Hurricane, the most decorated K-9 in White House history, dies at 15
Author of the article:Washington Post
Washington Post
Kyle Melnick, The Washington Post
Published Feb 20, 2025 • 4 minute read

The Belgian Malinois rose to fame more than a decade ago when he spotted a man hopping the White House fence. Hurricane, a Secret Service canine, kept his jaws locked onto the intruder’s arm even as the man kicked, punched and slammed him into the North Lawn. The dog pinned the man in place so authorities could take him into custody.


Hurricane was lauded for protecting President Barack Obama and his family, who were home at the time. But Hurricane’s owner, Marshall Mirarchi, who was working that night as a Secret Service officer, saw something else.

“I basically had a dog that was willing to die for me,” Mirarchi told The Washington Post. “He knows: ‘Dad is behind me. Do not let this guy get to Dad.'”

Now, Mirarchi is celebrating Hurricane’s life. The 15-year-old died in Alexandria, Virginia, on Feb. 12, Mirarchi said.

Since the October 2014 incident at the White House, Mirarchi said he has tried to repay Hurricane for his loyalty, giving him lots of bacon-flavoured treats and creating a nonprofit organization in his name to raise money for retired law enforcement and military dogs’ veterinary care.


Hurricane, who retired in 2016, won national and international awards for stopping the intruder. The White House said Wednesday that he was the most decorated K-9 in U.S. history.

“He could work and be the hardest, most ferocious, fearless dog,” said Mirarchi, 41. “And then two minutes later, he could be sitting in your lap, just wanting to get pet.”

Hurricane, who had a black coat and brown eyes, joined the Secret Service’s K-9 unit in November 2012 and was paired with Mirarchi. Hurricane underwent more than four months of training at the Rowley Training Center in Laurel, Maryland, learning to bite hard, jump high and react quickly to security threats. When Hurricane was promoted to guarding the White House, he jumped and spun in excitement from the back seat each time Mirarchi drove onto the property.


On Oct. 22, 2014, Hurricane was 6 years old when he spotted a man jumping the White House fence. The intruder fought off another Secret Service canine, Jordan, when he was about halfway across the North Lawn. But then Hurricane, who weighed more than 60 pounds, charged in for a brawl that lasted a few seconds before Hurricane knocked the man to the ground.


The suspect, 23-year-old Dominic Adesanya, was taken to a hospital with injuries from a dog bite. Hurricane’s body was covered in bruises, bumps and blood, Mirarchi said, and he was taken to a veterinarian. Mirarchi said he worried Hurricane would die of his injuries.

The next day, the Secret Service posted photos of Hurricane and Jordan on social media and said a veterinarian cleared them to work. But Hurricane was never as nimble again, Mirarchi said.


In July 2015, Adesanya was sentenced to time served and a year of supervised release after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds. His family said that Adesanya struggled with mental illness and wanted to speak with Obama about spying devices he believed were in his family’s Bel Air, Maryland, home.

Hurricane and Mirarchi received the Secretary’s Award for Valor by the Department of Homeland Security, an honor that recognizes acts of heroism, in November 2015.

In September 2016, Hurricane retired due to his health. While Hurricane loved playing with Kong toys, Mirarchi said he still trained Hurricane, who was accustomed to practicing biting with his four titanium teeth that bolstered his grip.


In December 2016, the Animal Medical Center in New York City named Hurricane one of its annual top dogs, covering his postretirement medical bills, Mirarchi said.

Marshall said he struggled to work without Hurricane, so he retired in 2017 after working with the Secret Service for more than a decade. Mirarchi said he found another purpose: He wanted other retired K-9s to receive free veterinary care, so he founded his nonprofit, K9 Hurricane’s Heroes, in the following years. He and Hurricane traveled the world for charity events, where Hurricane played with children. Mirarchi partnered with Kinetic Dog Food to make a bacon-flavored treat called Hurricane Bites.

People across the world also celebrated Hurricane years after he stopped the intruder.


In October 2019, the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals, a British veterinary charity, gave Hurricane its Order of Merit. The honor is the animal equivalent of the Order of the British Empire, which the royal family has awarded for charitable and public service works for more than a century. In March 2022, Hurricane was given a Distinguished Service Medal from the award body Animals in War and Peace.

But Mirarchi could tell this month that Hurricane’s days were short-lived. On Feb. 11, Hurricane flew on an American flag-themed Southwest Airlines plane from Colorado to Baltimore, where Secret Service members who worked with Hurricane greeted him outside his gate. Mirarchi rolled Hurricane in a wagon because he struggled to walk.

The next day, Hurricane visited the White House for the final time. Hurricane’s former Secret Service colleagues presented him with a plaque with his name on it and an American flag. Mirarchi declined to say whether Hurricane was euthanized, but after the White House visit, Mirarchi said he and about a dozen of his former colleagues gathered around Hurricane as he died.

“I want his story to live on,” Mirarchi said. “So that’s how I pay it forward for him: to just keep telling his story. And if I keep doing that, then he’s always still here.”

Hurricane, the most decorated K-9 in White House history, dies at 15

Hurricane was lauded for protecting President Barack Obama and his family, who were home at the time.

torontosun.com

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

He was a nice DOG-E.

 

[spaminator]

NO VACCINES!

They cause autism. And they don't work anyhow. And they're all a great big plot to control us.

i guess that explains elon and greta.

 

[petros]

Gene Hackman, wife and dog found dead. Sounds like carbon monoxide.

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

Hackman studied acting at the Pasadena Playhouse. He was voted "Least Likely To Succeed," along with another loser, by the name of Dustin Hoffman.

Four Oscars between 'em. I'll bet that's four more than the rest of their class put together.

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

Carl Dean, aged 82.

Dolly Parton's devoted husband since 1966.

 

[spaminator]

Carl Dean, aged 82.

Dolly Parton's devoted husband since 1966.

 

[spaminator]

A coyote hunter killed their dogs. Now they're being told to stay silent
An Aylmer-area woman whose dogs were killed last month by a hunter said she and her husband are being pressured to stay silent

Author of the article:Brian Williams • Local Journalism Initiative reporter
Published Mar 05, 2025 • Last updated 11 hours ago • 3 minute read

Kaitlin Strong and Robert Jordan's German shepherds, Hank, left, and Mary Jane, right, were shot and killed on the weekend of Feb. 8, 2025, near their home outside Aylmer. (Facebook photo)
Kaitlin Strong and Robert Jordan's German shepherds, Hank, left, and Mary Jane, right, were shot and killed on the weekend of Feb. 8, 2025, near their home outside Aylmer. (Facebook photo)
An Aylmer-area woman whose dogs were shot and killed last month by a coyote hunter said she and her husband are being pressured to stop talking publicly about their pets’ deaths.


Kaitlin Strong said since posting to social media about the killing of their German shepherds – nine-year-old Mary Jane and three-year-old Hank – near their rural home near Aylmer in February, she and her husband Robert Jordan have received messages Strong feels are intended to silence the pair.

“We’ve had a lot of people from Aylmer, specifically from the Aylmer Facebook page, reach out to me, either in DMs (direct messages) or in comments, and try to shut us up,” Strong said.

Strong said she could “only speculate” as to why anyone would want her to refrain from posting publicly, but felt it was possible those who’ve messaged her either know someone who was present when her dogs were killed, are protecting someone who may have been present or possibly are “engaged in their own illegal hunting activity.”


Strong said the couple continues to post about the deaths of Mary Jane and Hank to raise public awareness and to “move on.

“(We’re trying) to make something good out of this, to educate the public, prevent these kinds of things from happening in the future, because it all comes down to people reporting it,” Strong said.

But not all the messages received by Strong and Jordan have been intimidating.

In a post to Facebook on Saturday, Strong attached images of messages she has received, including witness accounts and other landowners who said they’d felt threatened by hunters, such as an instance where “animal body parts” were left in a person’s mailbox.

“So many people (have) reached out to us to tell us that they’ve had run-ins with hunters who were threatening them or just trespassing and running their dogs through their land and just behaving poorly,” Strong said.


However, Strong also noted “many good hunters” have assisted the couple as they try to figure out what happened to their dogs, and “expressed disgust in the actions of the entire group involved in the killing of half our family.”

Strong also feels keeping the story in the public eye would put pressure on the Ministry of Natural Resources – the agency investigating the dogs’ deaths – to interview witnesses, which she felt hadn’t occurred.

On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the ministry said they couldn’t comment because the “matter still remains under investigation.”

On Feb. 8, Strong let her two dogs out at about 1:15 p.m. and heard a gunshot about 15 minutes later, she previously told The Free Press.

Strong tracked their footprints through a wooded area to an open field near a creek and found blood-soaked snow and marks in the snow from an animal being dragged.


The couple contacted the Ministry of Natural Resources, who began an investigation, and told her on Feb. 11 they’d located the dead dogs and the shooter.

Strong said a group of hunters was tracking coyotes with binoculars and dogs toward Imperial Road between Wilson Line and Crossley Hunter Line, and the person who shot and killed Mary Jane and Hank mistook the dogs for coyotes, which she felt was inaccurate and conflicting with “physical and witness evidence.”

“We’re crushed,” Strong said. “I’m still not even back at work. This is the worst thing that has ever happened to us. We lost half of our family that day.”

bwilliams@postmedia.com

@BrianWatLFPress

A coyote hunter killed their dogs. Now they're being told to stay silent

An Aylmer-area woman whose dogs were killed last month by a hunter said she and her husband are being pressured to stay silent

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Mysterious affliction causing endangered sawfish to spin and die resurfaces in Florida
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Curt Anderson
Published Mar 05, 2025 • 2 minute read

This image provided by NOAA shows a smalltooth sawfish.
This image provided by NOAA shows a smalltooth sawfish. Photo by NOAA via AP, file /AP
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A mysterious affliction that causes prehistoric, endangered smalltooth sawfish to spin erratically in Florida waters and often die appears to have resurfaced, with more than 50 deaths recorded last year, wildlife officials said Wednesday.


Following a roughly nine-month lull, there have been 22 reports of the odd spinning behaviour involving sawfish in waters around the Florida Keys since December, the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported. Six sawfish deaths were reported in this recent outbreak.

It’s unclear what is causing the problem that led to at least 54 sawfish deaths last year. The agency reported that testing for parasites, bacteria, viruses and more than 250 chemicals, as well as checks for such issues as toxic red tide, turned up nothing definitive.

“Scientists did find some subtle changes in the brain tissue of affected fish, but more research is needed,” the agency said in a statement.

Sawfish, related to rays, skates and sharks, are named for their elongated, flat snout that contains a row of teeth on each side. Sawfish have been around for millions of years, can live for decades and grow quite large, with some as long as 17 feet (about 5 meters). They were once abundant off the coast of the southeastern U.S. but now are mainly located off the coast of southwestern Florida and the Keys island chain, as their habitats shrink.


Since December 2023, more than 500 reports of spinning sawfish and other species have been documented.

After the initial deaths, state legislators approved $2 million to fund the investigation into sawfish deaths in Biscayne Bay near Miami, Florida Bay and the Florida Keys. Some of the money goes to local fishing guides for water sampling and other work, according to FWC. There is also a sawfish hotline for people to report spinning or whirling fish.

One theory is that a lengthy heat wave last year largely attributed to climate change and blamed for bleaching corals may have changed the algae in ocean waters, especially near the sea floor, where sawfish are often found. Like rays, sawfish gills are on their undersides, so their intake is frequently from the bottom.


“Scientists have found a number of algal toxins in fish tissues, and these are currently being investigated as potential causes,” the FWC said.

The smalltooth sawfish has been on the U.S. endangered species list since 2003. Florida prohibits intentionally capturing, harming or harassing sawfish.

In recent years, threatened manatees also suffered a major die-off in Florida waters as pollution killed much of their seagrass food source. State and federal officials fed tons of lettuce to manatees that gathered in winter outside a power plant for two years, and the manatee numbers have rebounded somewhat, with 565 deaths recorded in 2024 compared to a record 1,100 in 2021.

Mysterious affliction causing endangered sawfish to spin and die resurfaces in Florida

A mysterious affliction that causes smalltooth sawfish to spin erratically in Florida waters and often die appears to have resurfaced.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Carl Dean, aged 82.

Dolly Parton's devoted husband since 1966.

 

[spaminator]

Dying dog sits in yard waiting for attention. Neighbours are lining up
'He loves to be loved and give out love, and he'll cuddle up into your arms.'

Author of the article:Washington Post
Washington Post
Sydney Page
Published Mar 10, 2025 • Last updated 15 hours ago • 5 minute read

Faygo, a 12-year-old goldendoodle, waiting for people to visit him on his front lawn. CREDIT: Michelle Martin
Faygo, a 12-year-old goldendoodle, waiting for people to visit him on his front lawn. CREDIT: Michelle Martin jpg
For most of his 12 years, a goldendoodle named Faygo has sat on his front lawn each day, hoping for pets and scratches from passersby.


“He is always waiting for somebody to stop,” said Faygo’s owner, Michelle Martin.

She and her husband are from Michigan, and they decided to name their dog Faygo after the soft-drink company headquartered in Detroit.

“He’s never without a smile. He’s just the happiest, sweetest dog,” Martin said. “He is the most empathetic, kindest, funniest dog that’s ever been on four feet.”

Faygo
Faygo always stands in the same spot on the front lawn, hoping for passersby to stop and pet him. CREDIT: Michelle Martin jpg
Faygo – whom Martin adopted when he was 10 months old – was diagnosed with prostate cancer in December, and his health has rapidly declined. Martin could tell her beloved rescue pup was nearing the end of his life.

On Feb. 3, Faygo stood at his favourite spot in the fenced front yard, waiting for people to notice him and say hello. He gets ample affection at home, Martin said, but that has never stopped him from wanting pets from anyone passing by.


It gave Martin an idea. Martin, who lives in Lake Barcroft in Fairfax County, Virginia, decided to post a message on her local email list.

Michelle Martin with her dog Faygo. CREDIT: Michelle Martin
Michelle Martin with her dog Faygo. CREDIT: Michelle Martin jpg
“My dog Faygo, a certified very good boy (see attached picture for proof), is very near the end of his life,” she wrote. “We thought we’d be saying goodbye yesterday but a visit from the hospice vet determined that he still has some good days remaining.”

“For the 9½ years we’ve lived here, Faygo has stood at the corner of our front yard, watching the world go by and waiting for pets from passersby – which almost never happens,” she continued. “My commitment is to make every day his best day so I’m putting out this invitation. If your travels (walking or driving) take you down [street name], you see a yellow dog in the yard and have a minute, please feel free to stop/pull into the driveway and offer a pet or two.”


Martin, 47, expected that maybe a few neighbours would stop by to pet Faygo. Instead, dozens have showed up daily over the last few weeks. Some days, there have been lines of people eager for their turn.

“People were just coming from all corners of our neighbourhood, and I could not believe it,” said Martin, who has four other dogs. “I had no idea that people would make intentional trips to come to my house to pet my dog.”

“I had no idea how healing it would be for me,” she added.

Faygo
Faygo with some fans. From left, Sharon Pacchiana, Carol Bursik, Marcia Grabowski and Alicia Agnese. CREDIT: Michelle Martin
The same day she posted the message, Martin said, she and Faygo stayed on the front lawn for nearly five hours as people came by to meet him. People brought cards as well as photos of their own dogs who had died.

“We just sat out there for hours and hours, and he loved it,” she said. “He just soaked it in.”


After the first day, visitors kept coming. More than a month later, Martin said, at least 100 people have visited Faygo.

“He literally has a fan club, and I’m his number one fan,” said Sharon Pacchiana, who lives in Martin’s neighborhood. A friend of Pacchiana’s alerted her to Martin’s email list post, and she immediately rushed over for some time with Faygo, whom she did not previously know.

Faygo
Sharon Pacchiana visiting Faygo. CREDIT: Michelle Martin
“I went over and met him, and oh my gosh, those eyes are incredible,” she said. “He loves to be loved and give out love, and he’ll cuddle up into your arms.”

Pacchiana fell for Faygo right away, and she has gone nearly every day to visit him. In fact, just two days after having knee surgery last week, Pacchiana showed up to Martin’s house for some cuddles with Faygo.


“There was no way I was not going to see him,” said Pacchiana, who brings Faygo homemade banana-peanut-butter cookies – which he gobbles up immediately – whenever she visits.

“He’s really slowing down on his willingness to eat, but he will always eat Sharon’s peanut-butter-banana cookies,” Martin said.

Faygo
Faygo in the car with his dog brother, Vernors. CREDIT: Michelle Martin jpg
Pacchiana said it has been heartening to see how the neighbourhood has rallied to make Faygo’s final days as sweet as possible.

“It shows people how a community can come together,” she said, adding that she will be grieving alongside Martin and her husband when Faygo’s time comes. “I have already cried twice. … He has touched my heart.”

Scott Horton, Martin’s next-door neighbour, also has a soft spot for Faygo.

“There’s nothing more beautiful than an innocent pet,” he said. “He’s just the sweetest boy in the world.”


Faygo
Roger Soles, a neighbour, stopping by to pet Faygo on a recent afternoon. CREDIT: Michelle Martin
Horton said he believes all the extra love from neighbors has extended Faygo’s life. He is also blown away by how his owners have gone above and beyond for him.

“Michelle and Joe are the epitome of fur-baby parents,” Horton said. “Michelle would give Faygo a kidney if it would save his life.”

Horton has enjoyed seeing neighbors stop by daily to pet Faygo, he said, and he is especially moved when strangers arrive.

“Neighbours who didn’t even know Faygo read about him and are showing up,” he said.

That includes Marcia Grabowski, who lives in the neighbourhood and has visited Faygo several times in recent weeks.

“I had never seen anybody do something like that for a pet before,” Grabowski said. “I thought it was just so touching.”


Grabowski said she has stopped by regularly for two reasons – to support Faygo, but also to support Martin during a difficult time.

“She’s such a wonderful pet owner, and I see that it has really done amazing things for the dog,” Grabowski said. “The power of touch and attention and kindness have really helped this animal.”

Faygo
Neighbour Matt Busby brought Faygo a ball, and they played with it in the yard. CREDIT: Michelle Martin
Faygo’s visitors said spending time with him is therapeutic for them, too.

“I went over a couple times, and there was a steady stream of people each time,” said Jane Mattoon, who lost her dog, Bailey, a few months ago and felt overwhelming empathy when she read Martin’s post on the email list. “I think it has brought peace and comfort to so many people that we could spend a little time with him. … It was so nice that she gave us the opportunity to play with him and say goodbye.”

Martin believes it’s bringing Faygo joy in his final days.

“We’ve had so many people show up in our yard to pet him, to love on him and to cry into his fur,” she said between tears. “He is so happy to see every single one of them.”

Faygo
Faygo often has multiple visitors at once. CREDIT: Michelle Martin

Dying dog sits in yard waiting for attention. Neighbours are lining up

For most of his 12 years, a goldendoodle named Faygo has sat on his front lawn each day, hoping for pets and scratches from passersby.

torontosun.com