Robert Marx Loves dogs. He took his three dogs to an Ohio dog park every day for over a decade. All of his dogs are strays that happened into his life. He rescued his 13 yr old Beagle, Lily, from a parking lot. Trixi is a small dog that looks like a Border Collie but is smaller. Robert spent months feeding Trixi at a State Park. She was lactating and people say her puppies were eaten by coyotes. It took him a long time before she would trust him and let him pick her up and take her home, as she was close to being a ferral dog. Trixi has been in the family for years now. Homer, a small Shih tzu, is believed to be around 4 years old. Robert went to a Home Depot store one day and the employees had the cutest dog he had ever seen in a shopping cart. It had wandered into the store and they could not find its owner. Robert named him Homer and took him home.
Robert Marx, 74, tried to protect his pet at the Ohio dog park that he has been visiting everyday for over a decade without incident.
(note: there have been other people who have had their dogs severely attacked by pitbulls in the very same park).
Mr. Marx was sitting on a bench with his wife and friends watching his dogs play. Homer, the small Shih tzu started to scream and cry. An 18 year old woman's pitbull attached itself to little Homer's neck, pinned him to the ground,and shook him violently. He asked the owner to do something to control her dog but she just sceamed. He picked up the pitbull and raised it in the air and the pitbull kept Homer dangling from its mouth and would not let go. Mr.Robert Marx could not hold the pitbull and Homer up in the air for long as the two dogs together were heavy and he is 74 years old. He has two herniated discs, and pins in his ankle from a construction accident that disabled him years ago. Robert asked the pitbull's owner for assistance again and again but she did not intervene. She just jumped up and down and screamed. He then used a stun gun for several seconds to try to get the pitbull to unattach itself from his dog. After using the stun gun, the pitbull was unaffected and would not let go of Homer. Mr. Marx asked the woman again to get her pitbull to let go. She did not get intervene. Mr. Marx told her that he would have to shoot the dog. After she still did not do anything and his dog continued to cry out, Marx told everyone to stand back as he was going to shoot the dog. He shot the dog straight in the back with the bullet going into the dirt. He is an experienced gun owner and he took precautions to make sure the bullet could not possibly hit anything but the pitbull.
The police were going to give Mr. Marx a ticket to appear in court and allow him to be free, but the police called a supervisor, who called the District Attorney, who told them to bring Mr. Marx to jail! Mr.Marx has no prior criminal record.
Mr. Marx was let out on bail, but the pitbull owner showed up at his arraignment and brought several friends with her. She said he had hastily shot her dog and she wanted him to stay in jail. Mr. Marx did not have any witnesses at his arraignment as he did not know they would be needed.
Mr. Marx was returned to jail for four more days until he was released with an electronic ankle bracelet.
Marx has been charged with criminal damaging and endangering and knowingly discharging a firearm within the city limits. His firearm was taken along with his concealed weapons permit.
Mr. Marx is not allowed to leave the house before 9 a.m. and he must be in the house by 5 p.m. He is ordered to not return to the dog park, either! Mrs. Marx is in her seventies. Instead of going to the dog park everyday and watching the dogs play with her husband and their freinds, she is walking the three dogs daily. She can't handle walking all three of them at once, so she is exhausted by taking several walks every day.
The pitbull owner did not have a break stick on her possession. Breaksticks are a tool that many pitbull advocates advise owners to carry because pitbull owners cannot get their dogs to let go of a person or animal once it latches on. The pitbull owner was not charged for losing control of her pet. There is a sign at the park that says you have to keep your dog under your control using VOICE COMMANDS AT ALL TIMES!
Marx is a licensed concealed-carry permit holder, police said. But Cincinnati police Sgt. Jim Perkins said that, under Ohio law, a dog is considered "property," and a person cannot legally use a firearm to protect property in Ohio.
Mr. Marx reportedly did not have an attorney at the time of his arraignment.
Concerned citizens need to help Robert Marx secure effective legal representation to protect his right to defend his property: including his beloved dog. Attacks by pitbulls are often fatal, and people who try to stop a pitbull attack are frequently severely injured.
It is cruel and inhumane to expect any person to be able to watch and listen as their pet squeals and crys out in pain. Watching a pet be attacked and killed is a traumatic and horrendous event that no person should ever be asked to stand and watch. The use of a legal firearm is definately warranted in the event of a pitbull attack. Help defend Robert Marx and help defend the rights of all people to live safely and comfortably. The law should be penalizing the owner of the pitbull that did not have control of her dog.
The picture on this campaign is of Bleu, a beloved family dog that was attacked and killed by a pitbull. (THIS IS NOT ROBERT MARX's DOG.) Noone wants to endure this tragedy and no one should be forced to witness this. It is beyond the capacity of normal human beings to control their instincts to intervene and protect their pets when they are attacked. LOVE cannot and should not be legislated out of pet owners. Mr.Marx used a stun gun first and then he saved his dog from ending up like Bleu.
http://tinyurl.com/ckghu7h News story on the pitbull attack.
Scroll down on the right. You can donate as little as ten dollars or donate five thousand dollars or any amount. A good legal defense will cost Mr. Marx thousands of dollars.
If you can not donate, you can still help:
- contact the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and let them know you will not feel safe vacationing in Ohio with these crazy laws. 513.579.3111 info@cincinnatichamber.com
http://www.cravendesires.blogspot.com/ Read a bloggers story on Mr. Marx's ordeal and the irresponsible pitbull owners that let this attack happen.
