Rescue Taiga!

Dear all

On Saturday 18 February 2017, my whole world came crashing down when my 13 month (and 2 day) old German Shepherd Puppy, Taiga-Ella and I became the victims of a racially aggravated attack by three men armed with golf clubs.

Around 15 minutes before the attack, the men walked “into us” intersecting our path and flicked some sand up at us attempting to goad my puppy. As I had no intention of engaging in any type of altercation – with anyone, I made a point of walking around 200-250 yards, diametrically in the opposite direction from the direction in which the men seemed to be heading.

I then stopped in a quiet area, on a piece of public land to do a spot of training with my puppy. I made a specific point of finding an area of grass which was not occupied or being used by any other person (or animal). Taiga and I had only been playing a game of “touch” for a few minutes when I heard racist abuse in the distance. At first, I tried to ignore it and focus on the training session. However, the abuse got louder and seemed to be coming towards me. I switched my phone on “audio record” as I anticipated something bad was about to happen.

And this is what happened next: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3EPh_xNahs

Our attackers, whilst hurling a mixture of racist abuse and threats towards me and Taiga, took vicious swings at us with their golf clubs. Only then did the seriousness and severity of the situation dawn upon me and I tried to back away – but our attackers kept coming forward. At one point, one of the men tried to grapple me whilst another took vicious swings striking us.

Towards the end, I managed to break free and find a path round the three men. However, even when I tried to leave the scene to get to safety, they cornered and blocked me physically. My puppy was exhausted after the ordeal and I just wanted to give her some water from the bowl I had laid out before making it to safety. However, our attackers did not stop with their threats and vile abuse of a racial and then sexual nature even then.

Even when it was clear to my attackers, after their main attack had subsided that I was conceding ground, just as I knelt down to pick up my Taiga’s toys and bag, one of the attackers took a swing at me with his club from the rear whilst another tried to swing from in front. Whilst I managed to side step the attack from in front, the swing from the rear ricocheted off of my bag and my struck my head. This is audible in the recording.

I called police as soon as I had made it to safety less than 100 meters from my attackers. But little did I know, our real ordeal was just about to begin.

Instead of arresting any one of the three attackers, the police instead arrested me?! Moreover, they seized Taiga! The attackers had alleged that I had said the words “Go Get Him” to Taiga who had then gone on to bite them. However, the audio recording is clear. I did not utter such words. Moreover, at no point in the recording do any of our three attackers allege any bite.

I even offered the police the audio evidence at the scene but they point blank refused to listen to it. The recording is in fact crystal clear.

Due to my ordeal, I am too weary to fight this on my own. I am therefore looking to raise money so that I can get good legal representation to fight the legal battle involved in having my beloved puppy returned to me and to ensure that the perpetrators of the injustices Taiga and I have faced are held to account.

Both, I and her two other canine chums miss her incredibly but we are not getting any news of her whereabouts, well-being, time-scales for her safe return or even procedure. For the first time in my life, I am having to take sleeping tablets to try and cope – over and above the physical injuries I have sustained. Taiga needs lots of mental stimulation and love. She loves training sessions and lives for any game involving a ball. She also loves cuddles, both from me and from her canine buddies. However, right now, Taiga is locked away in some kennel or cage in an undisclosed location away from her loved ones through absolutely no fault of her own. This is heart-breaking for us. I cannot imagine how she must be feeling and with no idea of what has happened to her or why it has happened, she must be absolutely distraught. Without your help it is likely to be MONTHS before we even get any news of Taiga. But, with all your help can we fight the injustices we have faced and do everything humanly possible to rescue Taiga from her wrongful incarceration.

The two specialist dog-law firms state that there are protocols and procedures that we can invoke to expedite Taiga’s release that extend beyond just “merely writing a letter” - which will not work. However, there will be costs involved in negotiating Taiga’s release and it is for this very reason, we need your help. Each day Taiga is incarcerated, away from her family, is not good for her and not good for us. So, please do donate. But if you cannot donate, then please share, share and share – and then share until the audio recording which the police refused to listen to in the first instance - and on subsequent instances, echoes and reverberates as far and wide as it possibly can.

So, in order to help rescue Taiga whose safe and imminent return is a priority - and to fight the injustices that we have faced, please aid me in securing her safe return in the first instance and then help in ensuring all those individually and collectively responsible, are held to account.

I will be eternally grateful and indebted to every single person for every single penny that is donated for our cause.

Thank you all.

Rajesh

Please see the following for Taiga during happier times along with a short training clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFrszOoTu14

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJAH-Rzn-_c