Dog lover battles city hall, neighbors – faces eviction

Photograph by : Farid Sanchez

Lawrence Gerard cares for 95 abandoned dogs at his house on Calle Libertad in Guadalajara. Due to fears the city will seize and “kill” the dogs, he seldom leaves his home.

Story by : DAVID AGREN

Lawrence Gerard wades through a sea of barking dogs to answer a knock at his front
gate, which fronts Calle Libertad and the U.S. Consulate General in Guadalajara.

“See how clean that is,” he said proudly, pointing towards a cement patio with a statue of Saint Francis de Assisi, where a young man recently finished scrubbing.

Gerard, a retired priest from New York, houses 95 abandoned dogs at his humble abode. Despite his efforts to keep his property clean, the growing dog population – and the resulting noise and odors – sparked a feud with several nearby building owners and restaurateurs, who blame the animals for driving away sales and making their properties unattractive to potential renters. Three neighbors sued Gerard – one allegedly uttered a death threat – and the municipal government has dropped off an endless stream of multas (fines). His long-time landlord recently issued an eviction notice, ordering Gerard and the dogs to leave by August.

“I’m not getting rid of the dogs,” Gerard said defiantly. “I can’t just throw them out into the street.”

Caring for abandoned dogs consumes Gerard’s retirement and modest income, which he supplements by selling vestments. He pays out-of-pocket to have each bitch spayed and every dog receives vaccinations. He orders 750 pounds of dog food every 15 days, which is delivered to his home. Due to fears the city will seize and “kill” the dogs, he seldom leaves his home. When he ventures out, he locks all the dogs inside. (The big dogs spend the day outside, while the small dogs live inside. All the dogs sleep in the house).

“When I get back, the house is a little messed up,” he admitted.

Gerard’s legal problems date back to last year, when in his words, “Three neighbors got together in a conspiracy to sue me ... to get rid of the dogs.”

He won the case, but lost an appeal. Gerard’s lawyer is now taking the case to federal court.

“We’re going to say this block isn’t a residential area,” he explained.

Offices and small restaurants line the street. Several of the buildings are vacant. Gerard said his neighbor, an absentee owner, blames the dogs for driving away potential tenants, “But the fact is it’s a run-down dump.

“He’s charging outrageous rent,” Gerard contended, adding that the owner’s son made a death threat.

The restaurant owner on the other side, “Threw dirty hot water at the dogs from the washing machine.”

Gerard insists the dogs only bark when provoked. Children passing by sometimes tease the canines.

“It’s always the fat kids,” he said. “They throw rocks and bottles at the dogs.”

The quarrels with his neighbors and city hall have taken a toll on Gerard’s health.
He sleeps poorly and suffers from stress.

“My nerves are shot,” he confessed, adding that he’s lost weight. “I fear for the lives of the dogs and my own life too.

“Right now, I’m living in fear.”

If evicted in August, Gerard said he has few options.

“I have no money to move,” he said. “I need a big place with lots of land and no neighbors.”

Sending the dogs to the municipal pound is out of the question. Most of the canines were rescued from the street. Others were dumped in his yard. Gerard posted a sign last year to encourage adoptions, but it instead prompted owners to bring by unwanted dogs.

“People dump dogs in the middle of the night,” he said. “Someone dropped off a box of eight puppies at one time.”

Gerard also rescues dogs from the street. He points to a small black-and-white mutt called Cookie Gittleman – named for a customer – that he “took away from a drunk in the street.”

Another mutt named Scooter simply showed up at the front gate.

“He walked in like he owned the place,” Gerard said. “He’s a real gentle dog.”

Gerard has found eight homes for his dogs in recent months, but needs more willing owners. He charges 200 pesos, which offsets the cost of the vaccinations.

“If they can’t afford the vaccinations, they won’t look after the dog,” he explained.

And despite his struggles, he promises to keep fighting.

“It’s going to get ugly if (the city) comes for the dogs.”

From the Guadalajara Reporter

Sheltering dogs causes friction with neighbors for retired priest

Story by : David Agren

Lawrence Gerard, a retired Catholic priest from New York, shelters more than 60 dogs in his yellow and blue home across from the U.S. consulate on Calle Libertad. He rescued most from the street. Some were dumped at his home by their owners. Many have been abused at some point.

"I keep hoping the number goes down," he said in his living room, where small dogs, ranging from poodles to a cocker spaniel covered the floor and a black Scottish terrier, fresh from getting a bath and a haircut, chewed on a knapsack. He locked two overactive mutts in the bathroom, where they scratched at the door.

"Every time I go somewhere, there's a dog waiting to be rescued."

Sheltering so many dogs has caused quarrels with two local business owners who have complained to city hall. A restaurateur across the street objected to the smell and noise coming from Gerard's property. The owner of the vacant building next door, which has a side patio overlooking Gerard's front yard, also complained.

"He’s blaming me because he can't rent the place," Gerard said of his neighbor.

The owner of a restaurant operating on the other side of his home has never voiced displeasure with the dogs. A tarp blocks the patrons’ view of Gerard's place.

According to Gerard, the business owner across the street wanted to adopt a pet husky four months ago, but the former priest declined his request. Gerard recalled the man telling him at the time: "I'm going to bring you down."

The business owner, who runs a nameless loncheria on Calle Libertad, was unavailable for comment last week. David Arias, an employee, confirmed that someone at the small restaurant had lodged a complaint with city hall.

Gerard defended his dogs' behavior: "They're silent until the morning.

"All the dogs are in the house for the night."

During the interview, the large dogs in front of the house barked at the occasional passerby and a deliveryman bringing a sack full of lunches. But mostly, the canines inside napped while the outside dogs moped around the premises.

Shortly after the altercation with the business owner, Guadalajara bylaw officers paid Gerard a visit.

They slapped him with fines totaling 8,000 pesos, which he refuses to pay.
Gerard added that several officers quietly solicited bribes.

"I never offer a bribe. Never," he said adamantly.

The citations mentioned problems with noise and odors and allege he runs a business, but said nothing about having too many animals. One ticket, which a dog partially chewed up along with an envelope full of important documents, described Gerard as "an aggressive Gringo."

"It shows you the attitude they have towards me," he remarked.

Adding to his woes, he recently posted a sign in front of his house to encourage dog adoptions, but it prompted the health department to accuse him of running a business without the proper licenses. Even worse, the sign encouraged more people to leave unwanted dogs in his care than to take one home.

Caring for homeless dogs consumes Gerard's retirement. He seldom leaves the house, venturing out mainly to drop off packages at the post office, visit a nearby veterinary clinic and buy enormous amounts of dog food.

"I have to stay and watch the dogs so the city council won't come and take them away," he said, adding that some of the canines fight, requiring him to stay put and play peacemaker.

The financial costs are large. He spends 200 pesos to have each dog vaccinated and checked by Alberto Martin Cordero, a veterinarian at the San Francisco veterinary. All the bitches are spayed at a cost of 400 pesos each.

"I don't get that money back," he said.

He charges 200 pesos to adopt a dog, a sum he said shows a potential owner is serious about the decision and can afford to look after the new pet.

Although capable of receiving donations through his registered charity called Saint Vincent's, Gerard mostly finances his mission with his retirement income and by selling vestments, incense pots and chalices.

He acknowledged his house is less than ideal and would move if he could afford to.
"I'd rather be in a more secluded area," he said.

Until then, he promised to keep fighting city hall and living in Guadalajara, saying: "It seems to be my destiny to come here and do this."