I received this letter today from East Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Please read and act.

Miakoda’s dead. My baby. My pride & joy. Cole’s best friend…….is dead. All because of some irresponsible *******.

I’ll got into more detail later, but what happened was the temp outside was nice, all the neighbors were out working the yards with their kids out playing, so I decided to load Cole up in the stroller and walk some dogs just up and down the street (it’s a deadend street). Mia was the 3rd dog I walked. As we were making out way back to the house, the unimaginable happened: a 100 lb Lab mix came bolting out of his front door. The dog was charging, barking & growling, straight towards me & Cole as Mia was on the other side and she didn’t even see him coming. Lord forgive me, I didn’t know what else to do but to yank Mia onto the side of the dog in order to let her try and ward the dog off while I got Cole out of the way. I could only imagine what would have happened at that dog hit the stroller at full speed. Thus my nightmare began.

Several neighbors who witnessed what happened, ran over to try and help. My neighbor & friend, Leslie, grabbed Cole and rushed him inside her home. It was then I turned my attention to my 44 lb girl doing her best to protect us from a 100 lb beast. One of the larger men decided, along with myself, to try and get the dogs apart as Mia was fighting with all her heart but that dog had a huge advantage. When he hit her running, she was literally flung over onto her back. Since I trusted Mia, I had the guy try to get a hold of her while I dealt with the lab (yes, I’m stupid, but that was MY dog that dog was trying to kill). Now mind you, the other dog’s owner still hadn’t come out of his house despite all the yelling & screaming not just by the adults, but by the 7-8 children watching this take place. When we had a good chance, we both went in for the dog’s collars to grab hold. That’s when the Lab saw me coming & turned his attention onto my leg. He grabbed & shook, but the other guy missed grabbing Mia as she was able to jump up and she then got a firm grip on the dog’s upper leg and chest area. She wouldn’t let go. At this time, the Lab’s owner came running out and he was literally beating the life out of Mia, but she wouldn’t let go. I kept trying to get to him & yell at him that he was making her even more mad, but he wouldn’t listen. I was desperately trying to get him to just find a way to put a leash on his dog then we could get them apart, but he was ignoring me. Finally some of the other guys were able to pull him away. But before I could even blink, he came out with a shotgun. And that’s when he shot my Mia…….he shot my baby girl. He shot MY dog! He shot her in front of children!

I don’t remember much after that except hearing her scream and then go limp. I remember the other guy trying to get a hold of his dog when the sheriff deputies pulled up. They then called in the state police and animal control.

They arrested the man for animal cruelty and for discharging a firearm in the close proximity of humans. They were nice & sympathetic and decided to not allow him to bail out tonight, but rather the s.o.b. will have to wait for the judge or whomever to see bail in the morning. The kicker was that when AC finally got the other dog loaded up, I told them bluntly that I wanted that dog dead by tonight & they could check for rabies the old fashioned way. And guess what I was told: That they were going to hold the dog for 10 days and then release it back into its home and that I would have to file a complaint otherwise. So here I am with a dead dog in the middle of the street and I’m hearing that this ******* & his just as crappy family will get their “beloved pet” back. There is absolutely NO justice! NONE!

I talked to a Lt. on the scene and he told me to file suit early in the week against the owner & the dog. He said the issue he could see is that I was bitten trying to break up a dog fight vs. just being bitten outright. (Yet, I had barely even touched the dog when it saw me & turned and grabbed me!)

I just got off the phone with my friend and lawyer, and she will have something worked up by the middle of this week so we can file. Over my dead body will that family get that mongrel back.

But what makes me the angriest and the saddest is that in less than a minute that guy ruined my life, but nothing I can do from here on out will cause him the same pain and anguish and torment and anger and frustration that he has caused me. Nothing.

I don’t know what I’m going to do from here. A part of my heart died tonight with my girl. She was my baby. She was Cole’s best friend. She was a clown just like her momma. A part of me is ready to just throw in the towel. I’ve done nothing but love these dogs and fight for them, and yet I’ve been through too much heartache. I honestly don’t even have the desire to go deal with the dogs I’ve got left…..but I know I have to. I can’t give up…..not now……not ever.

God I wish this was all a dream. I wish I could turn back time and decide to call it an evening and not walk the dogs. God….there are so many things I wish could’ve been done differently. But my baby’s gone………..she’s gone………

I’ve got to go now as I was originally going to bury Mia with a neighbor’s help, but my former boss has so graciously offered to open the clinic for me to bring her in for private cremation. One day I will spread her ashes out somewhere she would’ve loved to have roamed free…….and that day she will be free……..never to be harmed through words or actions by the cruel and heartless people in this world. God help me……I don’t know how I’m going to get through this………….

After I leave there, I’m headed to the hospital to get my leg looked at. I’ve got one really deep puncture and a lot of swelling now. My entire quad is throbbing and I have some tingling in my toes. I have included some pictures of my leg after I cleaned it up a bit–they are somewhat graphic, so look at your own risk. And mind you, I was wearing bluejean shorts at the time and the dog bit clear through the pantsleg.

We are trying to help her anyway we can. She has spent her life fighting for our dogs and now we need to help fight in memory of Miakoda. I know everyone here is extremely busy but anything will help.

After what has happened in my life and after numerous discussions with friends, family, and a government official, an idea was presented to have those willing write letters to “To whom it may concern:” or “Dear sir or madam,” and send them to a specified email account. Letters will be printed off daily and stored for a certain time frame (let’s say 4 weeks) before being bound into a “book” of sorts. The theory behind this is that while it is wonderful to have everyone sending in letters here and there to various news media and gov’t officials, the reality is that they delete them faster than they can get the next lie out of their mouths. It’s nice to hear numerous voices proclaiming the same message whether it be education about the “pit bull” breeds, outrage against B.S.L., etc., but the idea of putting out a book of letters that will instead be speaking as one loud and noticeable voice is very exciting and intriguing.

We have the large commercial printers and the binding machines and supplies needed for me to do this here in East Baton Rouge Parish and Ascension Parish. My plan is to dispense these “books” into the hands of those who need a wake-up call and the hands of friends in positions that can be beneficial to us. The local news media, both t.v. stations and newspaper, will also receive several copies.

Worst case scenario the books are thrown out. Better scenario is that someone finds the book on their desk, glances through it, reads a few letters, and becomes intrigued that hundreds of people have come together and put forth the effort to speak and be heard. Best scenario is for this book of letters to touch someone’s heart and mind and cause them to face the truth behind the dogs, the truth behind the owners, and see what steps we propose as a group to fix the issues (not just with “pit bulls”, but with ALL dogs–i.e. mandatory leash laws, high fines for loose dogs, dogs loose a 2nd time get euthanized, whatever…………)

The email address for sending letters to is miakodasmemory@yahoo.com .

While I would greatly appreciate letters addressing my situation, I would also love for some to do some informative ones about the dogs, about us as owners, and offer alternatives to B.S.L. This is our chance to truly join together and speak as one!

I do ask that everyone keep their cool (which is why I’ve waited this long to write letters myself) and to avoid foul language. I will be running spellcheck on every letter before printing them out as well so just do your best at spelling and grammar, but don’t stress about it. However, I will ONLY be editing spelling and punctuation and will NOT change any content whatsoever. These are your words not mine and that’s what makes it special…..that we each have a voice and we each have the right to use it!

Feel free to crosspost this thread as I would love to see how far this goes.

Also, the book will be updated even after the initial 4 weeks I am giving it. And I also plan on turning it into a .pdf document so that I can send it to anyone who wishes to do their own reproduction as it would be wonderful for everyone to use in their own fights against B.S.L. and the ignorant public.

Again I just want to thank everyone for all the kind words, for all the support, and for all the thoughts and prayers. I know I sound like a broken record here, but I cannot stress how tough the past 2 weeks (almost) have been. It’s been such a comfort to know that people beyond my family and circle of local friends are out there fighting for me and my dogs just as much as for themselves and their dogs. And I will say that it goes both ways.

I’m doing this in Miakoda’s memory and in her honor, but it’s not just for her. I’m doing this for ALL the dogs in the hopes that we can turn things around so that our dogs aren’t killed/murdered and we as owners aren’t criminals that must prove our innocence.