Dogpound Manifesto
Len Diamond
- An
- undistinguished
- young
- man
- hijacks
- a
- county
- Animal
- Control
- Department
- truck
- and
- frees
- the
- animals
- it’s
- carrying.
Arnold
- Frieburg
- is
- deeply
- affected
- by
- the
- animal
- suffering
- he
- sees
- around
- him,
- and
- his
- conscience
- has
- prodded
- him
- into
- this
- attempt
- to
- relieve
- at
- least
- some
- small
- part
- of
- it.
- The
- act
- is
- completely
- unplanned,
- done
- on
- impulse.
But
- it
- commits
- him;
- he’s
- broken
- the
- law.
- Beyond
- that,
- though
- --
- it
- felt
- good.
- Why
- not
- make
- it
- a
- crusade?
- He’ll
- be
- a
- sort
- of
- invisible
- avenger,
- rescuing
- animal
- victims
- by
- stealth
- and
- surprise.
- He
- enlists
- the
- help
- of
- his
- girlfriend,
- who
- enlists
- her
- landlady,
- who
- enlists
- a
- friend...and
- from
- here
- things
- get
- out
- of
- hand.
As
- he
- watches,
- Arnold’s
- intended
- low-profile
- campaign
- is
- taken
- over
- by
- a
- 1917-vintage
- revolutionary,
- a
- newspaper
- columnist
- sympathetic
- to
- the
- cause
- --
- sometimes
- --
- and
- a
- motorcycle
- gang
- led
- by
- a
- cousin
- of
- Godzilla’s.
- The
- gang’s
- search-and-destroy
- raid
- on
- the
- county
- dogpound
- gives
- Arnold
- the
- chance
- to
- fling
- a
- manifesto
- into
- the
- face
- of
- the
- establishment
- --
- although
- their
- later
- naval
- engagement
- with
- the
- police
- on
- Dennison
- Park
- lake
- will
- put
- him
- in
- jail.
The
- Animal
- Regulation
- commissioner,
- a
- 30-year
- operative
- in
- the
- civil
- service/political
- arena,
- finds
- himself
- in
- the
- unaccustomed
- role
- of
- laughingstock
- as
- a
- series
- of
- trucks
- are
- hijacked.
- He
- doesn’t
- yet
- know
- Arnold,
- but
- he’d
- like
- to
- bury
- him.
The
- arrest
- at
- the
- park
- sets
- the
- stage;
- and
- to
- Arnold’s
- horror,
- it’s
- exactly
- that:
- a
- stage
- setting.
- His
- “friends”
- have
- engineered
- a
- show
- trial
- at
- which
- he
- is
- to
- put
- the
- establishment
- on
- trial
- for
- its
- treatment
- of
- animals.
- The
- biker
- gang
- leader
- now
- re-appears,
- transmogrified
- from
- leather
- into
- pinstripes,
- and
- becomes
- counsel
- for
- the
- defense.
While
- the
- legal
- process
- moves
- forward,
- other
- plots
- are
- playing
- out.
- Would-be
- sinister
- forces
- (embodied,
- luckily,
- in
- the
- person
- of
- a
- not-too-bright
- jailbird)
- may
- be
- trying
- to
- silence
- Arnold.
- Humane
- organizations
- are
- taking
- up
- the
- cause,
- which
- brings
- about
- the
- seemingly
- pre-destined
- meeting
- of
- Arnold’s
- biker/lawyer
- with
- the
- more-than-amply-sized
- Cat
- Lady.
- And
- the
- Animal
- Regulation
- commissioner’s
- secretary,
- plied
- with
- Rob
- Roys
- by
- the
- now-lovestruck
- newspaper
- columnist,
- is
- blowing
- a
- whistle.
The
- trial
- has
- aroused
- national
- attention;
- newspapers
- are
- editorializing,
- and
- demonstrators
- picket
- the
- courthouse.
- It’s
- the
- absolute
- opposite
- of
- everything
- Arnold
- ever
- intended.
- Like
- it
- or
- not,
- though,
- it
- is
- a
- platform
- for
- his
- ideas.
- In
- the
- course
- of
- the
- trial,
- the
- Animal
- Rights
- case
- is
- made,
- and
- opposing
- ideas
- are
- demolished
- under
- cross-examination
- by
- the
- defense.It
- would
- be
- nice
- to
- see
- the
- case
- won
- on
- that
- basis,
- but
- this
- is
- fiction,
- not
- fantasy;
- so
- it’s
- won
- with
- a
- rotten,
- sneaky,
- underhanded
- trick
- that
- will
- leave
- animal
- lovers,
- anyway,
- thoroughly
- satisfied.
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- # #
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