Campaign ManagerFond Of Dogs
Dan Tillery lives with his girlfriend Megan in Waterford Township, Michigan. Dan is an ambitious guy with a long list of wishes. The first one among them is to have a house of his own where he could live with his beautiful girlfriend and a dog. He was in love with dogs and always wanted a dog by his side but unfortunately, the owner of the apartment he was living in, had prohibited the staying of dogs. He really wanted a home of his own!
Dan wanted a home of his own so much that he after spending hours in the music studio was also doing side business only to earn and save enough money to buy a house. His girlfriend too was toiling hard to eventually have their own house. After accumulating enough money Dan and his girlfriend finally purchased their own home in June 2016 and when they got into their house the first thing they decided was to bring in was a dog. But, what happened after they brought this bundle of joy to their home is surprising.
No Issues
It was after a month while talking to the Oakland Press that he said, “[My girlfriend and I] have been wanting a dog forever, but the place we were renting would not allow dogs. We just recently purchased our first home. All ours. And dogs are allowed.” After the couple made up their mind to bring a dog to their house, the next major problem was to come to an agreement on which kind of dog to bring. It was sheer luck that while on his search for a dog Dan saw an American bulldog named Sir Wiggleton in a shelter where the dog had been taking refuge for the past 100 days.
It was a first sight love for Dan! When he saw the picture of Sir Wiggleton, he instantly felt the connection. He knew only by seeing the giant goofy face of the pooch that he can become a perfect companion. He wasn’t able to wait to click lots of pictures with the cute dog that they just had adopted so they brought the dog home immediately. So Dan brought the dog to his house, it seemed that the dog also liked Dan’s company as they both posed for a picture with the pup posing in an amusing manner with his tongue hanging from his mouth and head cocked. Until then everything seemed quite wonderful to the couple, Dan named the dog Diggy.
Someone Got Provoked
The most striking feature of the dog was his wide-mouthed grin. So, Dan, a musician by profession started taking selfies with the dog to capture the amazing moment. His goofy smile had captured the heart of each and every person who came across his cute photos. For Dan, he couldn’t help but take selfies with his pet and post them online. In no time, Diggy became a social media sensation as Dan would post all his pictures on the social networking sites. His smile had won over people’s heart. Surprisingly, one of the pictures which Dan took of the dog provoked someone to call the police. Dan had no idea about it.
On a first look, the photo seemed to have nothing objectionable. It was just a picture of an extremely happy owner with his dog. In the photo too, the most distinguishing feature was the dog’s characteristic smile. Dan was feeling very lucky and even sent the photo to the Detroit Dog Rescue as a token of thanks for helping his dog at the time of need.
Very Happy
The post’s caption read “We know this photo is going to break the internet and we apologize, but we had to share. After almost 100 days in the shelter, Sir Wiggleton just got adopted. Sir Wiggleton and his new Dad are celebrating adoption day with huge smiles all around!”
Dan was a fun loving person and now he had found his partner in crime. The duo did many stupid and amusing things together. But, when after a few days of the picture going viral the Watford Police Department Came to Dan’s house, he was left confused and had a natural question in his mind, ” why?”
Committed A Crime
It was illegal to keep pitbull and pit bull mixes as a pet in Watford, the police informed Dan. According to the law they were deemed as “dangerous dogs”. Since it was a crime to be found in possession of one, the only possible option left for Dan was to return it to the Detroit Dog Rescue or else pay the consequences. Dan was left baffled. Dan was hopeful that the police would leave the issue by giving Dan a warning as he knew that his dog was not dangerous in any sense. He said, “When they went to the gate [to] actually see him, he licked their face, was very kind,” Dan explained to WWJ. “They said, we’re dog lovers, that’s cool, he seems like a good boy. Took some pictures of him.”
Though the dog was an American Bulldog he had a striking resemblance to Pit Bull. At first sight, anyone would mistake him for a pit bull. Many people had done so before and that is what happened with the person who filed the complaint and now the police officials were having the same confusion.
A Bad Dream
Unfortunately, the officials did not bother to listen to Dan. Police told The Detroit News in June, “It looks like a pit to me, I’d write a ticket.” Dan was distraught on realizing the fact that he was left with only three days to stay with his new companion despite the fact that his adoption papers stated it as an American Bulldog.Even the Detroit dog rescue maintained that they had taken care of all the necessary procedure before adoption. The organization also put forth all theh documents that clearly stated that Diggy was a bulldog not a pit bull. Infact before giving away the dog, the group had taken the approval of township.
Naturally, Dan was outraged! He wanted his buddy back at any cost and to get him back he decided to resort to the same tool that had taken his pet away from him. Once again he turned to the Facebook. Along with letting Diggy’s fan know about the development he also sought help from animal rights activists.
Came For Support
Everyone along with the animal rights activists came in support of Dan, but it seemed all in vain as the officers were firm in their decision.“From our standpoint, it’s a pretty clear case of an ordinance that makes it clear what’s permissible and what’s not. Our job is to enforce the ordinance,” Chief Scott Underwood of the Waterford Police explained to the Oakland Press. People were in full mood to counter-attack the decision of the authorities. Contrary to the fact, Dan was preparing himself for a hearing in the court. The supporters organized an online petition to remove the ban from the city, so as to allow the reunion of Dan and his pitbull.
Fortunately, all the efforts of the people and Dan’s pure affection towards his dog came in handy. In a hearing in the 51st District Court, all charges were eventually dropped.“People had really invested their emotions into this story, and it’s beautiful to see so many people care about rescue dogs,” said Kristina Rinaldi, the director of the Detroit Dog Rescue.
