A Bite, Bytes and Backbites: Pooch Story Dogs D.A.

Few people expected political fallout last year when Cody, a golden retriever, bit Goldie, a greyhound, on a Newport Beach sidewalk.

That was before a dogfight started in the Orange County district attorney’s office.

Now a Web site dedicated to criticizing Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas has posted internal memos about the dog attack, implying political strings were pulled in the case. The site includes a letter from the county Republican party leader seeking charges against Cody’s owner.

This leaves Rackauckas, who is already facing criticism of favoritism toward political contributors, defending himself against, of all things, a dog-leash case.

It all started last year when Rackauckas received a letter from county Republican leader Tom Fuentes, who said Goldie’s owner, a Newport Beach man, wanted to pursue criminal charges after his dog was bitten by Cody.

“He is a good GOP supporter, and the case seems most deserving of pursuit,” Fuentes wrote.

Six weeks later, a top supervisor in the district attorney’s office sent a memorandum to Rackauckas’ secretary informing her that criminal charges had been filed against Cody’s owner, a 38-year-old Newport Beach woman, for allowing her dog to roam without a leash.

The dog owner did not return calls seeking comment, nor did Fuentes.

Rackauckas said he often passes along letters from the public to office supervisors. He said it is not unusual that Cody’s owner was charged with a misdemeanor--as opposed to a lesser infraction--because she had previously been convicted of allowing her unleashed retriever to attack Goldie.

Fuentes is a friend and political supporter, Rackauckas said, but added that he granted Fuentes no special treatment.

“It’s very common. We get these inquiries all the time,” he said. “I get so many that my secretary automatically sends them to the appropriate party.”

So common, Rackauckas said, that he does not remember the letter from Fuentes or anything about the case. In his letter, Fuentes noted that he and the district attorney had discussed the dog fight at the Tet Festival.

The dog-fight issue comes up as the state attorney general is investigating whether Rackauckas violated any laws by asking staff members to work on a nonprofit charity. Critics have also faulted Rackauckas for removing two investigators from a case involving a friend who was the victim of an alleged extortion plot. The district attorney has strongly denied any wrongdoing, and some of the criticism comes from a few disgruntled employees.

The Web site that posted information about the dog controversy has been operating since February. It contains scores of unflattering news articles and opinions about Rackauckas, political cartoons, district attorney office documents and letters from employees.

It’s unclear who is running the Web site, but the detailed memos and gossip appear to come from district attorney office insiders.

For his part, Rackauckas said he rarely looks at the site.