Reunited with his dog (Decorated Vietnam Vet Arrested #6)

www.sandiegouniontribune.com ^ | November 9, 2001 | STAFF WRITER Dana Littlefield

[B4Ranch]

Homeless man is pleased to be reunited with his dog

SOLANA BEACH -- Robert Thomas Northcut, a homeless man who has walked the city's streets for a decade, got a little impatient yesterday as he waited to be reunited with his dog.

"All I want is my damn dog back," he repeated while crouching in front of the Do-It-Yourself Dog Wash. A couple of his Solana Beach friends, including Chris Tatum, owner of the dog wash, were there to wait with him.

He relaxed when T.J., his German shepherd, arrived from the animal shelter in Carlsbad, where the dog had been held since last week.

"I got him back," Northcut said as he walked T.J. -- or T.J. walked him -- along Acacia Avenue. "Everything's fine now."

Yesterday, the county's Dangerous Dog Task Force decided it would not issue a notice declaring the dog a public nuisance for barking and lunging at city and transit workers in Solana Beach. County animal control officers say T.J. bit a man in May.

Lt. Dean Maier, the animal control officer who made the final decision, could not be reached yesterday for comment.

Lt. Danielle Spilker, who previously handled the case, said she wasn't sure why the task force chose to release the dog.

"Usually when they release them at this point, there's not enough of a case," Spilker said.

Northcut, 49, was arrested last week on outstanding warrants. He had been cited earlier for trespassing on a city-owned median where a World War II memorial sits. Northcut, who said he's a Navy veteran, and T.J. had set up camp beside the concrete memorial on Plaza Street near South Coast Highway 101.

T.J. was taken to the county animal shelter in Carlsbad when his owner was arrested. Although Northcut was released after a few days, the dog was held until the task force could further examine the case.

Jennifer Lynch, a Vista attorney who appeared in court on Northcut's behalf, paid a $25 impound fee and a $17 licensing fee to release the dog. The money had been donated by the public. Residents and veterans who wanted to help had flooded her office with calls and e-mails.

"I'm not sure why (the task force) released the dog," Lynch said. "I can only hope that people's concern helped in getting the dog back sooner rather than later."

Northcut admits his dog has bitten people. He says T.J. is "feisty" and protective of his master. The dog had been abused before being rescued in Tijuana and nursed back to health by Northcut and Tatum.

When Lynch arrived with the dog yesterday, Tatum promptly muzzled him.

"We don't want any more problems," Tatum said as T.J. tried to knock the muzzle off with a paw. "He'll just bounce around for a little while, but he's going to get used to it."

[rightofrush]

Thank you.

[MistyCA]

I can't judge you. And I won't try. And I am really not interested in creating an adversary relationship with you or anyone else. I guess I just can't figure out why it is so important to you to belittle what the rest of us have felt compelled to do for TJ and Northcut. It seems like the right thing to do, and it might be our way of finally providing a sick vet the welcome home he should have had years ago. Sounds to me like he asks for little in life....just to be left alone with his dog. You completely overlooked what was said about him carefully keeping his dog on a leash. Maybe the fact that he had bit someone in the past made it clear that the leash was necessary. And now it appears that the muzzle will be available also. But you seem to be suggesting that they are throw aways (both of them) that do not deserve our one attempt at trying to right what we know was a terrible wrong for someone. Maybe it is too little too late. Maybe it was too much. However, you have to admit that there is a lot of attention drawn to this story now and maybe, just maybe, it will create the kind of conversation this country needs to have in order to come up with some sort of solution to the problem of our vets who just never got home. They are our problem you know. All of ours.

[usmcobra]

You know why don't you just tell every one about the E-mail you said you sent to San Diego Animal control telling them to KILL the dog!

[StayoutdaBushesWay]

Thanks for the ping--I am so happy, all I can say is God Bless all who got involved and made this a happy ending!

[usmcobra]

Ya got a BFA on all your posts so far.
But hey If you want to act like a fool so be it.
You would rather see Northcutt sedated in a cell some where and TJ put to sleep,
because you think the City Government is right.
For ten years the government did nothing to him, and all of a sudden now they are.
and all you can say is it is about time....
Why after all these years is the time right now to make him move on?
Enlightened us with your expert opinion!
Why is Now the right time?

[antidisestablishment]

Great news! Glad to hear his dog was returned. Thanks for the update.

[MistyCA]

Come on Nam, you know as well as I do that the article was written to put a certain "light" on Northcut. I read it with a grain of salt, particularly after talking to Lucy at the city and learning that he had been at that same park prior to 9-11. Now, I do believe that the 9-11 attack probably made him feel more protective toward the monument and his home, but don't hang your hat on that story. It was fluff. Since then we have talked with the city, talked with the attorneys, talked with the other agencies that we could talk to and have put together the facts of the case. Based on those facts, Northcut and TJ deserved and got our help.

[usmcobra]

Post number 97 hasn't been written yet!
so who has the pea brain?

[onedoug]

Thanks for the flag, B4....

Would that Northcut might now clean up his act, and perhaps get a job...the better to more properly care of his "damn dog"....

[MistyCA]

You see Nam? You aren't so bad after all! You just got it right....based on the facts, as you say, they did the right thing and let the dog go. Do you really think they would have let the dog go had we not made a fuss? I don't. And can you imagine the pain in Northcut's heart if they had wrongly put his dog to sleep? I can.

[MistyCA]

Yup...fluff. And if it had been all we had to go on we would have been misled to a certain extent. But we researched it, remember? We brought out the dog bite incident. Remember? You are making me tired and weary.