Petrelis Files

NY Post: First-ever Dog Protection Order Issued Against Gay Man

They say gays are always the first to start trends or break new legal ground, and this story from Friday's New York Post illustrates how gays are at the forefront of the implementation of New York's new law protecting pooches. By the way, the order protecting the dog was issued, where else?, in the borough of Queens!

Excerpts from the article:

I'll get you - you and your little dog, Bibi, too!

A jilted gay man turned into the wicked bitch of the west and beat up his ex-boyfriend's tiny bichon frise, prompting the city's first-ever order of protection for a dog.

Fredrick Fontanez, 20, now must stay 100 yards away from the pooch Bibi and have no contact with the dog, Judge Alex Zigman ordered in Queens Criminal Court yesterday. [...]

Lopez allegedly told Fontanez, who lives in The Bronx, to be out of his house by the time he got home from work.

Sometime later, neighbors report hearing blood-curdling yelps and howls from the apartment where Fontanez, who is 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds, was alone with 5-year-old Bibi, a cute, 15-pound, white powder puff of a dog. [...]

Fontanez left when Lopez got home - and Colon told him what he had heard. Lopez was shocked when he saw the pup.

"A few minutes later, he knocks on my door and says, 'Yo, look at this,' He's got the welts, he's got black and blues," said Colon, an animal lover. "It was black and blue over his spine, maybe four inches from his tail. You could see he was shivering, see it in his face.

"You know that's not cool - that's not cool. Because that dog can't defend itself," he said. "The guy should go pick on some of the pit bulls or Rottweilers around here."

After an investigation by the ASPCA, Fontanez was arrested Wednesday. He was arraigned early yesterday and released with no bail on orders to stay away from Lopez and his canine best friend.

The extension of orders of protection to animals was signed into law just late last month by Gov. Pataki. [...]

"We also see that people who abuse other people also abuse pets. This is the first time the ASPCA has seen an order of protection issued for an animal."

"This is really terrifying. I hope the dog recovers," Rosenthal said.

Lopez could not be reached for comment, but officials said Bibi is doing OK. Fontanez declined to comment.

Hey, Mr. Dog-Beater! Friends of Dorothy love their little dogs, they don't beat them up.