Amy Cooper: Central Park 'Karen' gets dog back after cops refuse to keep it, rescue group gets slammed online
Amy Cooper, the Central Park dog owner who grabbed headlines after being accused of launching a racist rant against an African-American bird watcher after the latter asked her to put her dog on a leash, will regain possession of her dog, confirmed animal rescue group Abandoned Angels, in a Facebook post
"Abandoned Angels would like to express its gratitude for the outpouring of support regarding the dog that was recently placed in our custody, following release of a troubling video that was brought to our attention. The dog was promptly evaluated by our veterinarian, who found that he was in good health. We have coordinated with the appropriate New York City law enforcement agencies, which have declined to examine the dog or take it into their custody. Accordingly, and consistent with input received from law enforcement, we have now complied with the owner's request for return of the dog," it wrote.
People were disappointed at the rescue group's move, as they argued that Cooper was seen in the now-viral video, mistreating the dog. "I don’t understand. I have worked with rescues as a foster and facilitated adoptions. I have adopted myself. The agreements signed have always had a stipulation that the rescue has the right to take the dog back into their custody and care at their discretion if they determine you are not meeting the standards and guidelines of care they expect. I am disheartened by this," one wrote in the comment section.
Another wrote: "So truly sorry it turned out this way. I'm sure it broke your heart to place this beautiful dog back in this home. I'll keep you and the dog in my prayers. Sounds like the system failed, not you. I'm really sorry some are blaming you and your organization."
A third said: "Surely even if NYC enforcement declined to accept the dog, you could have found ANY better home for this poor thing than a deranged woman who was very clearly shown on camera to be abusing the dog. Sounds like you guys are a loving organization but this is an epic fail. You need to amend your bylaws ASAP so this doesn’t happen again. Otherwise you lose all credibility as a rescue."
PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange also weighed in on Cooper regaining custody of her dog. In a statement to MEA WorlWide (MEAWW), she said: "Anyone who is this rough with a dog and hangs the animal by the neck, as in the video, clearly shouldn't have a companion animal. Surely, a better home can be found than with Amy Cooper, and PETA stands ready to assist with that."
Amy Cooper's video went viral after she called cops on the African-American man in Central Park after getting into an argument with him. The man, Christian Cooper, was heard asking Amy to put her dog on a leash while the two were in the park. According to the park's website, all pets are required to be kept on a leash inside. After being told to put her dog on a leash, she refused and threatened Christian in a video that garnered a lot of attention across social media.
In the video, she is heard saying, "I'm taking a picture and calling the cops. I'm going to tell them there's an African-American man threatening my life." The video shows Amy on her phone. "There's a man, African-American, he has a bicycle helmet," she says. "He is recording me and threatening me and my dog." Meanwhile, her dog appears to be straining and trying to get free while she tries to restrain it instead of leashing it.
Following her conduct captured on video, she was fired from her job and even New York Mayor Bill de Blasio was unwilling to forgive her. “The video out of Central Park is racism, plain and simple,” he said on Twitter. “She called the police because he was a black man. Even though she was the one breaking the rules, she decided he was the criminal and we know why. This kind of hatred has no place in our city.”