7 year old can now return home

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/08/15/BAG88KIMET1.DTL&hw=louie&sn=002&sc=984

Andrew Louie will now be spending every night at home, eight months after the 7-year-old was taken by San Francisco social workers concerned about his safety around his pet pit bulls.

"I feel so good, at last he's coming home," said Valerie Louie, the child's mother, following a hearing Monday in the juvenile division of San Francisco Superior Court. "We've been waiting for this for so long. It almost seems like a dream."

In the closed two-hour hearing, Commissioner William Gargano told Louie that her son would remain a court dependent for the next six months, which allows San Francisco Child Protective Services to make unannounced home visits, Louie told The Chronicle. Gargano also stipulated that Andrew is not permitted to have contact with Cricket, a 3-year-old pit bull mix that has lived with the family since it was a pup.

"He was very kind," said Louie, 45, a nurse at Oakland's Highland Hospital emergency room. "He said he knows Andrew loves the dog and that the two grew up together, but he just did not want Cricket living with us.

Louie said she would redouble her efforts to find an adoptive home for Cricket.

The Louie family came to the attention of city officials in April 2005 when Cricket and Frances, also a pit bull mix, slipped out the front door and Cricket bit a neighbor's dog on the ear. The dogs, which had been spayed and neutered, were declared "vicious and dangerous" and underwent evaluations.

Although the dogs had never harmed Andrew or anyone else, animal behaviorists grew alarmed at Andrew's rough play with Cricket during the evaluations.

And in subsequent months, after both dogs were banned from the Louie home, Louie brought each dog back for a brief time. Mistrustful of the mother and fearing for the boy, in December child welfare workers removed Andrew from his Richmond District home. Andrew was allegedly sexually abused at a foster home and then placed in a relative's home. The dogs were gone from Louie's home the entire time Andrew was living elsewhere. Frances has since been adopted by another family.

Since Andrew was taken, Louie, has filed a claim against the city and undergone numerous therapy and parenting sessions. A court-ordered psychological evaluation of her in March determined that Louie had "learned her lesson" and strongly urged that Andrew be allowed to go home.

But not until July was Andrew allowed to spend the night at home -- and then just on weekends.

Carl Friedman, director of the San Francisco Department of Animal Care and Control, said late Monday afternoon that he was glad Andrew was going home.

"Well, that's wonderful," he said. "I hope the boy does well. I hope the whole family does well and that they stay safe."

Louie will be required to continue with therapy "to deal with parenting issues," she said.

Just hours after the hearing, Louie attended a therapy appointment, and planned to then go tell her son that he could stay with her for good.

"I'm going to say, 'Buddy, you can come and stay home, you don't have to stay at anyone else's house now,' " she said. "He will be so happy, he will be just ecstatic."

A big celebration is planned for the near future. Louie said she promised a trip to Legoland in Southern California.

"He will be thrilled. Legos are his favorite thing in the world," she said. E-mail Elizabeth Fernandez at efernandez@sfchronicle.com

 

I must be missing something? The dogs never showed any H.A. so whats a little dog scuffle have to do with anything.
This poor kid was placed in a foster home( i assume by social workers) and is sexually abused and then they want to point a finger at the mother because they didn't trust her? I guess now you are a bad parent if you own pitbulls.

 

There were two dogs at first. They got out and one bit a someone. They gave up that one and wanted to keep Cricket, but the Social Workers said NO.

 

"Although the dogs had never harmed Andrew or anyone else, animal behaviorists grew alarmed at Andrew's rough play with Cricket during the evaluations. "

Did they just mess up on this article? This is actually the first article i have read about this.

 

the dog show aggression toward another dog,,biting that dogs ear,,that I guess is cause to take the kids huh? my kids roughed it up with my dogs so bad when they were little that I used to make my kids stop and then protect my dogs from my kids

 

I always knew there was something queer about San Francisco. That has got to be the most retarded deal I have ever heard of. I don't see how a kid playing rough with a dog is cause for any of that crap. So the dog got onto another. Big deal. Give them a fine and a warning and skip the other dumb shit. I did linguist school there I hate that place. Bunch of retards I tell ya. And they stick the kid someplace and he gets raped. Now that is something that should cause alarm. I wish a war would start so I can take out a list of dumb asses while I am at it.