Those in the Know Say Bo Deserves a More Secure Life

Bo knows life behind bars.

For the last month, the 3-year-old canine has been held captive at the North County Humane Society--doing hard time, some say, for a crime his owner committed.

In late February, just days after Bo had been collared as a stray by Oceanside animal control officers, Michael Edward Fallon broke into the Humane Society’s compound to spring the male Australian blue-collie mix dog from his animal jail cell.

Fallon, who had earlier refused to pay the $66 fee required to reclaim Bo legally, was quickly arrested by Oceanside police. The 32-year-old owner was taken to County Jail in Vista. Bo went back to the compound, where he became classified as evidence to the criminal charge of breaking and entering.

This week, Bo learned that it’s not a dog-eat-dog world after all.

Officials said Friday that they are putting the brown and black, long-legged pooch up for adoption as his owner still sits in jail--this time on unrelated break-in charges.

“Bo deserves better,” said Edward Araiza, director of the Humane Society. “He’s a dog who deserves somebody who will give him a good home, who will give him a better life.”

On Friday, a mournful-eyed Bo was moved into Cage J in the public viewing area, where he paced back and forth in his two-room cell, tipping his head to acknowledge the yapping and barking of dozens of stray dogs in adjacent cages.

Meanwhile, Araiza said, in the weeks since Bo’s initial incarceration, the Human Society has received scores of telephone calls from irate citizens complaining that the animal should be immediately set free.

The Humane Society also received $280 in donations to release the dog. Officials said the money is being returned.

“We’re the bad guys,” Araiza said. “Some people are critical of us for picking up Bo in the first place. Others say we should give him back to his owner. A lot of it is ugly stuff.

“People say that all we care about is the money, that we don’t care about life, and that we’d probably rather put the dog to sleep anyway. And that’s just not true.”

Bo was originally picked up Feb. 21 as an unlicensed stray running the streets of Oceanside and taken to the compound, 5 miles east of Interstate 5, officials said.

Two days later, Fallon arrived to reclaim the dog but refused to pay the $66 fee, Araiza said. “He was angry,” he said. “He refused to pay. And he left without the dog.”

The following Sunday afternoon, officials say, Fallon returned to the pound and used a pair of bolt cutters to break into the yard through the back gate. He then broke the lock on Bo’s cage, setting the dog free.

“A couple of kids saw it happen and called police,” Araiza said. “They were both picked up a couple of blocks away a short time later, and Bo was returned to the shelter.”

Fallon spent 16 days in jail and was eventually convicted on burglary charges--receiving three years probation as well as time already served, Araiza said. Meanwhile, the dog was declared as evidence in the case. And his veterinary bills, license and fees climbed to $525.

When Fallon was released from jail, he called the Human Society about Bo--only to be told of the new bill. “Again, he said he wouldn’t pay it,” Araiza said. “But by that time, the dog was in our custody.”

Araiza said the Human Society has the right to place for adoption or dispose of the dog on the fifth day after it arrives at the center.

He disagreed with the claim of some callers that the dog had paid the price of his owner’s crime by remaining in the pound for more than a month.

“There will be a happy ending to this story,” he said. “Bo will not be destroyed. He’ll go up for adoption. I’ve got nothing against this dog at all. He was simply a victim in this case.”

This week, Fallon was back in Vista jail, charged with another break-in--this time at his parents’ Oceanside home, police said.

Meanwhile, Bo has been cleared by a local veterinarian for adoption, but there have so far been no takers. He can be adopted for the regular fee of about $50, officials said.

Araiza says that this isn’t the first time an owner has broken into the animal compound to spring a pet--a fact that has him scratching his head.

“It happens once a year or so,” he said. “It just shows you what people are willing to risk. I wouldn’t do it. I’d find the money somewhere, borrow it from friends or relatives.

“It’s either that or spend some time in jail yourself, just like your pet.”