STOP AIR GUN DEATHS - Bring Justice to the Shooting of Foggy the Bedlington
- Andrew Currah
- Closed on
- Target:
- Animal welfare
- Region:
- United Kingdom
- Website:
- www.rememberfoggy.com
This petition is now closed. The signatures will be forwarded to the authorities. Thank you for your support. Andrew
Please note that this petition is co-located at:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/rememberfoggy/index.html
We are also posting here to specifically reach the unique GoPetition community.
'The Fog will Never Fade'
www.rememberfoggy.com
CONTEXT
At approximately 0700 BST on August 1, 2008, our beautiful Bedlington terrier, Foggy, aged just 7, entered our enclosed garden and began his daily ritual of exploring, relieving himself and preparing for a longer walk before breakfast. Minutes later, at around 0710, he screamed after being shot in his flank.
The Bedlington terrier is a distinctive breed, known for its gentle, loving nature, originating from Northumberland. Foggy was brought to us through the Sevray line. He is pictured on the home page of the website. He leaves behind Kookie, another Bedlington (aged an impressive 15), his two owners, Sue and Simon, and their two sons, Andrew and Paul. As everyone will attest, he was an extremely affectionate and playful character who brought immense joy to those around him.
We were so fortunate to have him in our lives.
We know that he was shot with a precision air rifle. The sharpened vermin pellet punctured his heart. He died within 20 minutes on the way to the local veterinary surgery. Worst of all, he suffered greatly and died in Sues arms as Simon desperately tried to reach the surgery in time. Needless to say, they will never fully recover from this traumatic experience. The family has been stripped of a core emotional asset; indeed, Foggy was an integral part of the family unit, who brought boundless joy, healing and companionship to all its members.
This petition aims to express the strength of public feeling about Foggy's death, not only in the immediate region but also across the UK and indeed abroad.
The signatures will be submitted to the police and courts in due course. And in an effort to bring about a change in UK gun laws, we will also be submitting the petition to the Home Secretary via our local MP.
The international community of Bedlington owners and breeders, as well as other pet lovers from around the world, are united in their abhorrence of this tragic incident. The commemorative website has elicited an unprecedented response from people in many countries.
On the basis of the general facts stated above, we, the undersigned, strongly implore the police, courts and government to recognize the following points in their review of this distressing case:
(1) This is not a simple case of criminal damage to private property. Foggy was an emotional keystone within the affected family; a fact that can be clearly witnessed at his commemorative website and the accompanying video and pictures.
(2) The horrendous nature of the crime to this special and gentle dog breed, combined with the extreme pain and suffering experienced by Foggy after the shooting, provide, in our view, a strong justification for a maximum penalty and sentence.
(3) The direct and deliberate discharge of a firearm into a private property (and within close proximity to other gardens, as well as a public highway) posed a clear danger to the safety of local residents, walkers, children, pets and wild animals.
A paper petition will also be circulated in the local area. Please do not duplicate signatures either online or offline.
Thank you for your support and please share widely.
Andrew
LEGAL DISCLAIMER:
For legal reasons, we are only unable to disclose the sequence of events on our private property, and to convey the seriousness of what has occurred. It is obviously up to the courts to identify and convict those responsible.
The STOP AIR GUN DEATHS - Bring Justice to the Shooting of Foggy the Bedlington petition to Animal welfare was written by Andrew Currah and is in the category Animal Welfare at GoPetition.