Author: Scott Patrick Smith

To all Parties Reading this Article – Fraud Alert and Animal Rescue Red Alert

I wrote this article in the hopes that this never happens to anyone or their rescue pets again. This article will serve as a benchmark throughout time for other animal rescuers and people to never put themselves at risk when dealing with Susan Rubin or anyone like Susan Rubin. I am here to report fraud taking place on GoFundMe, which is being perpetrated by Susan Rubin out of Washington, DC, and I believe that dentist Jennifer Jablow out of NYC is aiding and abetting in that fraud. I actually did not know about this campaign until a friend of mine mentioned it to me in mid-February. Had I known about it sooner, I would have written this article at that time. I will address both Jablow and Rubin in this article for all to see. I will include dark blue clickable resource links throughout this article and other reference links at the bottom.

My goal is to expose their fraudulent campaign on GoFundMe and to get my dog, BabyLady, back from Susan, who violated all of our agreements regarding my little girl. I am madly in love with BabyLady. She is the love of my life. Based on what I have learned regarding Rubin’s scheme to defraud on GoFundMe, this article had to be written. From a legal perspective, there will be no retreat in my pursuit of getting my sweet little BabyLady back. I’m so very sorry that I let this happen to her, but I’m going to reverse all of that now.

I will illustrate how Susan Rubin used pictures of another dog, which was not in her possession and had nothing to do with the dogs she was supposedly raising money for in her scam campaign on GoFundMe. She did this to defraud donors and drive donations higher. Additionally, she lied about the physical condition of the dogs that were actually in her campaign. More on all of that coming up.

Quick note before you continue: Susan Rubin, of the FB page “From the Pound to the Penthouse” has taken her name and picture off her fraudulent campaign on GoFundMe since this article was published on March 6th, 2024.. She also took down all of her fraudulent promotional posts regarding the campaign on her Facebook page. – Susan Rubin’s GoFundMe account is being investigated. Her scam GoFundMe link is enclosed at the bottom of the article.

We have the RECORDINGS.… On March 6th at 4:23 pm, just one hour and 23 minutes after this article was published, Rubin filed a false report call to 311 Broward and it was caught on a recorded line. It is arguably one of the craziest 311 calls in history. It is also enclosed at the bottom of the article.

I encourage everyone to read my email to Susan Rubin from January 28, 2024, and my email to Susan and Jennifer Jablow from February 11, 2024. Links to those emails will be provided later in the article. In Jablow’s defense, I don’t think she knew about my email to Susan Rubin on January 28, 2024. Nor do I think Jablow knew about the agreements I made with Susan Rubin regarding a trial period with my sweet BabyLady back in December 2023. Nonetheless, I am very confident she partook in Susan Rubin’s fraudulent GoFundMe campaign based on her deplorable behavior on Sunday, February 11, 2024. I will personally address Jablow in the last section of this article titled “The Infomercial Quack.” Both emails will give the reader a pre-perspective, so to speak. Again, all reference links will be provided at the bottom of this article and throughout it. I don’t want anyone linking out to other pages/websites at this time.

My name is Scott Smith from South Florida (originally from New York). Perhaps you heard about me from my website DriveWithCompassion(dot)com, which was created for stray animals living on the streets of Puerto Rico and around the world. Maybe you have heard of me from the animal rescue work I did during Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. The links will be provided below. I am also the gentleman who assisted the District Attorney’s Office of Manhattan in taking down The Coronavirus Criminal, Philip Capolongo. He was arrested and charged with four felonies on February 8, 2023. I worked on that case for over two years. He had been forging bank letters and selling assets he did not own for over 40 years. Capolongo destroyed countless families, including mine in 2020, during his 40-year run. We ended up losing our home by March 2021. But, thanks to my family and me, Capolongo’s scheme to defraud is over, and he’s living in a homeless shelter in downtown Manhattan. He destroys families no more. Susan Rubin is the Philip Capolongo of the animal rescue world.

I want BabyLady back Right NOW…. You are a fraud, Susan Rubin. You are the Philip Capolongo of the animal rescue world. I am going to substantiate that in this article. I will be 55 years old on May 24th. You are the WORST thing that has ever happened to my human family, my pack and my life.

Let’s Get To It:

Susan Rubin, of the Facebook page “From the Pound to the Penthouse,” and Midtown East, New York City dentist Jennifer Jablow, are currently defrauding donors through Rubin’s GoFundMe campaign. This scheme is reminiscent of the actions of the Coronavirus criminal Philip Capolongo (mentioned above), who defrauded people with forged bank letters. However, Rubin and Jablow are using a different tactic: they are posting pictures of another person’s dog, which has no personal connection to them and is unrelated to the dogs they claim to be raising money for on GoFundMe. Is anybody listening?

I am going to illustrate a few examples of fraud perpetrated by Rubin and Jablow below. I will also introduce everyone to my pack, particularly BabyLady, whom I want back immediately. From there, it’s up to GoFundMe, the Attorney General, and the District Attorney of Washington, D.C., to decide if they want to investigate this fraud. At the very least, it would be extremely negligent for GoFundMe not to investigate this matter.

Pay Close Attention to What is Presented Below:

Susan Rubin, assisted by Jennifer Jablow, has been promoting and raising money on GoFundMe for two dogs: my BabyLady (referred to as “Lady” on their campaign) and another dog named Noki. Yet, the picture above is the “before and after” rescue picture of my dog Mookie, who was rescued off the street in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, in December of 2018. On the left is when he was pulled off the street in horrible condition, as you can see. On the right is Mookie after living with me for about six weeks in Levittown, Puerto Rico. Mookie has been with me since December 2018. We have been together for five years now. He’s here with me now in Florida as I am writing this article. Is anybody listening?

Why are Susan Rubin and Jennifer Jablow using my rescue pictures of Mookie (originally named Romeo) from December of 2018 in Puerto Rico, who has been with me the whole time since? – What does Mookie in Florida have to do with Susan and Jennifer’s fundraiser for BabyLady and Nokia in Washington DC? – Exactly. It has nothing to do with Mookie. That is downright FRAUD my friends. That is INTENT to defraud. Furthermore, it’s interesting how Rubin and Jablow are describing me as this horrible person who would leave my little BabyLady in pain for 6 years, and at the same time, they use my rescue efforts and credentials to market their fraudulent campaign on GoFundMe.. Is that Irony times 1000? – Here’s several of my posts over the years regarding Mookie aka Romeo with the same picture: A Random Act of Kindness. Check out the same picture again in my Mookie Nickname’s post. I can show you a ton of Mookie posts (originally named Romeo) over the last 5 years. I will provide links to scroll through galleries of pictures and stories of my whole pack. You can also see me and Mookie in this video at the 5 minute mark through the 7 minute mark regarding his name change. You will love my little Mookie.

Now, let’s get serious people. I would anyone and everyone reading this article to text me so we can schedule an immediate FaceTime session. Let me show you Mookie in the flesh right now, right here in South Florida: 305 783 8600.… You can email me too: SESinspiration@gmail.com … Eh, eh, eh Susan and Jennifer, do NOT change or switch anything else like you already have done on the GoFundMe campaign. I have screenshots of every single word, update, pictures and pages. That will just make you look 10 times guiltier than you factually already are.

Jennifer Jablow and Susan Rubin, the only solution to avert a civil legal disaster is to return BabyLady to me right now. I also want a public apology for your despicable behavior and harassment of my community members on Feb 11th, 2024.

Rubin’s Fraud goes even Further and Deeper below

Please see the the 2 images above ^^^^^^

More intentional deception and fraud on Susan Rubin’s GoFundMe campaign. Look at the above image on the left from December 22nd, 2023… Susan asks for donations so BabyLady could walk again. Implying that BabyLady can’t walk. Keep in mind she refers to BabyLady as just “Lady” now. So, don’t get confused. It’s the same dog. Now, look at her January 6th, 2024 update on GoFundMe on the right. So just 14 days later, BabyLady can run like the wind with no surgery. Lol. What changed in those 14 days? Nothing changed. You will notice on Rubin’s campaign (link will be provided below) that she repeatedly said the prior owner did “No surgery.” She said it over and over again. “No surgery.” “No surgery.” That’s exactly right. We looked into surgery 6 years ago in Puerto Rico as soon as she was pulled out of the street. It was deemed unnecessary as it was not even guaranteed to work, nor was she in pain. Suan Rubin got the same diagnosis we did 6 years ago. Read her above update from January 6th again on the right. So she jerked her donors around, while villainizing me as if I would leave BabyLady in pain for 6 years. What a total schmuck.

BaybyLady was walking and running with my pack and myself for the last 6 years. Rubin is acting like this is new news. BabyLady’s leg is not mangled. Her back left leg is disabled. And she has always been able to walk and run fast despite her disabilities. I told Susan many times on the phone about my trips to the dog park with my whole wolfpack including Babylady. This entire campaign is littered with fraud and downright lies. This would be a good time for readers to take a quick glance at my email to Susan Rubin on January 28th, 2024, which I mentioned earlier.

Please see the collage picture above of the before and after rescue picture of BabyLady. That’s what I do for animals Susan…. What do you mean suffering for years? How about this picture which was 3 weeks after BabyLady was pulled out of the street in August of 2018? Make sure to scroll down inside the PDF. What do you mean could not walk, Susan? – Let’s take a look at this picture of BabyLady in December of 2018 at a park with me in Puerto Rico. Her back left leg can clearly be seen here. Susan, what do you mean by Mangled? What do you mean she can’t walk? This was just a few months after I took her under my wing in September of 2018. – BabyLady was pulled out of the street in Morovis, Puerto Rico in August of 2018. You can see that here. Photo by Anitza of Morovis, Puerto Rico. Even in that horrible condition, she was running around that very day. I will put the GoFundMe team and the regulatory agencies reading this article in touch with my friend from Morovis, Puerto Rico on a moment’s notice.

How about BabyLady and Dad at Walmart in October of 2019. Suffering for years? – What are you talking about Susan? How about in June of 2020 when Polar Bear and BabyLady were running around the house together. What do you mean BabyLady can’t walk Susan? How about BabyLady basking in the sun? What do you mean suffering? -Let’s take a look at BabyLady in 2022 in a post titled “BabyLady – A Gift from Patrick.” Suffering for years? How about in November of 2022 with her groomer, Jenny in a blogpost called, “BabyLady, the Babiest Lady of All.” I recommend everyone read that post. It explains how the “BabyLady” name came about and her connection to the late great Patrick Swayze. Another highly recommended post with BabyLady is from 2023 about our history together.

How about this video here of my whole wolfpack? – You can see BabyLady at the 13.40 minute mark through the 14.20 minute mark. Then again towards from the 22.20 minute mark through the end of the video. Suffering for years Susan?

Trasnfer of Ownership – Bogus Texts and Contract – More Fraud by Rubin below:

BOOM BOOM BOOM – The text above on the left is from Susan Rubin to me on December 14th, 2023. She was feverishly texting me saying she needed me to sign over the ownership of BabyLady to board the plane. That is an absolute lie. I have flown many dogs over the last 10 years, including most of mine. A passenger needs a permission letter from a veterinary facility that the animal has had all its vaccines and shots depending on the state they are travelling to. A passenger does NOT need papers of ownership. Take a look at the image to the right. I signed as the new owner of BabyLady. Why? – Because I knew Rubin she was lying. That’s what pathological liars do.

Look at Susan Rubin’s original fraudulent thumbnail picture (my picture by the way) promoting her fraudulent GoFundMe campaign. Rubin says, “Save the life of a precious Maltese in danger.” Save the life? Please refer to all the BabyLady links in the 2 paragraphs above. So, not only is Rubin committing fraud by using pictures of Mookie and acting as though he is one of the 2 dogs she’s raising money for (which he is Not), but then goes on to lie about the condition BabyLady is in. Not to mention, she is using my pictures to market her scam campaign with Jablow. That’s Intellectual Property theft. Save a life? – Susan Rubin took Babylady from me on Wednesday, December 13th, 2023. Here are 2 pics of BabyLady taking a drive with Dad (me) on December 6th, 2023… BabyLady Drive one. And take at look at BabyLady drive two. Let’s take a gander when I had BabyLady groomed on December 9th, 2023. Save a life Susan? WTF are you talking about? Susan Rubin, you are the Philip Capolongo of the animal rescue world.

GoFundMe, are you listening? Are you seeing this?

Susan Rubin is literally trying to rewrite history from what has already transpired over the past 6 years starting from the day BabyLady was pulled out of the street. No Susan. You’re not a hero. My friend Anitza of Morovis, Puerto Rico is the hero who pulled her out of the street in August of 2018 in Morovis, Puerto Rico. Then, I took over the case in September of 2018 and transformed her like as can be seen in the picture above and in the collage picture a few paragraphs before that. I have made Babylady smile from the inside all these years. I stayed with BabyLady right up until I made the biggest mistake of my 54 year old life allowing a trial period between you and BabyLady in December of 2023. 

SCOTT SMITH MADE THE WORST DECISION OF HIS ENTIRE LIFE ON DECEMBER 13TH

I should have never made a decision while being exhausted and just feeling beaten down in life in November and December. My schedule was pushing me beyond capacity in terms of my dogs, my human family, and being on the phones 9 hours a day enrolling people into their health plans all over the country. I was at wits’ end. But I have my strength back now and Rubin broke our agreements. And even worse than that, BabyLady is very Unhappy with her. I told Rubin to leave her leg alone. But no. She pushed for surgery the moment she landed in DC…. BabyLady is 12 years old now. She did not need her heart broken and then be blasted with procedures, poked at with needles, instruments shoved down her throat and etc.

Rubin has given me no updates on Baby Lady since December 15th. No pictures, no updates on progress. Or, in this case, lack of progress I should say. Nothing. And as mentioned before, just like I said to Rubin, Babylady was not in pain and did NOT need a surgery. She is just disabled. Alot of animals and people are disabled. The surgery never actually happened because even Rubin’s orthopedist said BabyLady is not in pain and can get around just fine. Like I said earlier, I guess Susan Rubin just wanted to jerk her donors around with a rollercoaster of emotions.

The trial period failed. I want her back now. I am not asking for updates about BabyLady anymore. I am demanding you give her back to me.

Susan Rubin also refers to me as a hoarder several times in her fraudulent GoFundMe campaign. Hoarder Susan? Really? Let me introduce everyone to my wolfpack. Here is my little Grasshopper, I pulled him off the train tracks in North Miami Beach in June of 2021. He is very smart and bossy. And really smart too. Here is Polar Bear and Dad. I rescued Polar Bear off the street in Levittown, Puerto Rico on December 28th, 2018. Take a look at Polar Bear galloping in the backyard at our home. We already know the story of Mookie. I took over BabyLady’s case in September of 2018 in Puerto Rico. Her story has been well documented already. Here is Lucky, I pulled him off the street in Levittown, Puerto Rico on May 10th, 2017. You can see that here: “Scared and Alone, Together and Complete.” More on Lucky, “This is No Ordinary Love.” That was our 6th year anniversary together. Checkout “Lucky, the Escape Artist.” Let’s move on to my dog Rocky. I rescued him off the street in Puerto Rico on November 19, 2015. This is a very moving story about him, “Rocky, my Little Big Guy.” We are still in the same house. Take a look at Henry, my oldest from NYC. – I have thousands and thousands and thousands of stories about my wolfpack.

Hoarding Susan? WTF are you talking about? – I said, “WTF are you talking about?”

We might not be a traditional family, but we are family nonetheless. I even mention my wolfpack on my FB dating profile. Who does that? Meaning, if a woman has a problem with my pack, she should swipe left and hit the road.

Look below at what the DISGUSTING SUSAN RUBIN has done to my girl. That’s not a sleepy dog. That is a miserably unhappy dog. Am I saying Susan Rubin is abusing BabyLady? No. I am not saying that. I am saying BabyLady is miserable with Susan. And now She must return Babylady to her rightful owner.

We all know animals have very good instincts:

I should have listened to BabyLady on December 13th when she tried to bite Susan twice because she was yanking on her ears while she was in my arms. She did not want to go with Susan. I should have kicked Susan Rubin the eff out of my house. Now, of course she’ll lie about that as well. But she and I know it happened. When Rubin’s mother died 9 years ago, who wrote the tribute? Me. That’s who. Of course, Rubin will lie about that now as well. 14 months ago, Rubin came to me to evaluate some pictures and a video of a family regarding a dog she had just adopted out to them. She asked me to help her get the dog back. Here’s the thing, there was a 4 year old in the video playing with the dog and the mother monitoring in the background. The kid was not yanking the dog’s ears or anything. And I declined helping Susan. Of course, she’ll deny that now. But, here’s what she can’t deny, Susan Rubin, you are the Philip Capolongo of the animal rescue world. And now you dragged friend Jablow into a very serious fraud and civil case.

Look at what Rubin had done to my BabyLady’s spirits in the picture above. She knows it too and couches it is as if BabyLady is recovering from her 6 years of trauma with me and my pack. Then, she will even have the gumption to say that BabyLady is coming around and show a happy picture of her that she stole off my wall. Like this one here. That picture is from my house. She took it down off the GoFundMe campaign already. But it’s still up on her IG account. What a fraud!

The only way out of this is to return BabyLady to me right now…. Regarding the fraud that has already transpired, that will be up to GoFundMe and the regulatory agencies to decide if they want to pursue.

I will repeat what I said in my email to Rubin and Jablow on Feb 11th, 2024, if these 2 jerks walked or drove by the 6 of my 7 dogs that were pulled out of the streets over years (mostly by me), guess where they would be? – Exactly. They would still be in the streets. My guess is they would have left this crippled and petrified raccoon to die alone in the street also. Let me say to Jablow and Rubin right here, grab one of my posters like seen earlier in this article, fly to Puerto Rico and get your rear-ends in the street and do some real advocacy work. There are 500.000 stray dogs and 1 million stray cats living in the streets of Puerto Rico waiting for you right now. For those that care beyond just bullshit gala parties stroking each other’s egos, like a Jennifer Jablow type, the dog pictured above in my poster is Levi from Levittown, Puerto Rico. He was hit by a car and instantly paralyzed right around New Years Eve going into 2018. Levi is the reason I created the DriveWithCompassion.com movement.

By January 18th, 2018, Levi felt some sensation in his legs and feet. We scheduled an immediate surgery for his spine. The surgery did not improve anything. Levi remained paralyzed. But at least he was adopted out to a very loving family in Wisconsin. If Jablow and Rubin drove by Levi that night like I did, he would’ve died in the street because they would have driven by like everyone else did. To all reading this article, look at what my team did for Levi back in Puerto Rico in light speed time. Does anyone think I would let BabyLady, the love of my life suffer for 6 years? – Susan Rubin is the Philip Capolongo of the animal rescue world.

BabyLady and Dad – Together Forever – The Real Story

Would you believe me if I told you that BabyLady’s name was inspired by the late great Patrick Swayze? – Would you believe me if I told you that Patrick Swayze’s video clip made a cameo appearance at the end of the video below to introduce BabyLady to the world? – We all remember the late great Patrick Swayze. He died of pancreatic cancer in 2009 at 57 years old. – I always felt terrible watching his painful demise. I always liked him. He seemed like a very nice down to earth man.

Let me explain:

It was the summer of 2013 when I rescued a dog from a pet store that nobody wanted and kept getting marked down in price. I could not take it anymore. So, in August of 2013, I went into the store and brought him home with me. I used to call him my little songbird because he used to let out these sweet little howls in the store not even looking at the people anymore. He had given up on anyone wanting him. He was killed by a car in Puerto Rico on August 19th, 2018. – I died with him that day. Not a piece of me. All of me died that day. The video above is my tribute to my sweet fallen Patrick. It’s a very sad and moving video. But it ends on a big up note when the late great Patrick Swayze makes a cameo appearance and him and myself introduced BabyLady to the world around the 22 minute and 30 second mark. My YouTube account is very inactive. Most of everything I have done and sometimes still do, is on Facebook.

The Infomercial Quack – Jennifer Jablow 

Jennifer, on February 11th, you and Susan decided to raid a Facebook post of mine from February 9th insulting me and harassing my community members. It was just a simple one paragraph love story about one of my dogs. I have been writing love stories about them for 12 years now. You know that Jennifer…You have been trafficking in my communities for over a decade now. Nonetheless, you decided to pop in and say the post was a “charade.” In other words, I really don’t love my dog like I had written. So, it occurred to me that you don’t know what a “charade” actually means. So, I’m going to illustrate an actual charade with you starring in it.

Let’s take a look at the reviews, and then the complaints regarding your partners over at the Home Shopping Network. I will do the math for you; the overall consensus is a 1 out of 5 star approval rating. In translation, 20% of customers approve of Home Shopping Network’s products, while 80% DISAPPROVE. Read some of the reviews and complaints for yourself. These are not just online rants. They are very substantive comments and arguments. None of this is really surprising considering your partners over at the Home Shopping Network waited 7 years to recall a product that was inflicting serious and permanent Burn injuries on their customers. Read that sentence again please.

Now Jennier, let’s extrapolate that same math above regarding your products and the 2.5 million smiles that you are bragging about on your website…. 80% of 2.5 million customers = 2 million DISSATISFIED customers. That, is a CHARADE, Jennifer. The average cost of your products is $40. That’s not even including all the upselling going on. You and your partners at the Home Shopping Network raked in 100 million Dollars on products that basically do nothing. And 80 million of those dollars feel cheated and wasted. That, is a CHARADE, Jennifer. – Do you see the difference now? 

Jennifer, I spent 20 years on Wall Street in finance. I was an accounting major at New York University. Then, a journalist in Puerto Rico focusing on animal rescue and welfare. I am very seriously thinking of blasting you with a slam dunk defamation suit. And with prizes like those numbers above, I will have contingency lawyers lining up to take this case. I might even organize a class action suit against your partners for bilking the public with 80% of products that don’t actually do anything.

The only solution for you and Susan to avoid a massive civil and truthful reputational beat down like both of you deserve, is turn Babylady back over to me IMMEDIATELY. Then, both of you are going to publicly apologize to me, my family and my community for your deplorable behavior on February 11th, 2024.

Susan Rubin filed a False Report call to 311 Broward County on March 6th at 4:23 pm. It was caught on a Recorded Line. Susan Rubin is Not Maria Sanchez of South Florida. Nope. Susan Rubn is also Not a worried mother living in Florida. Nope. Susan Rubin Is Susan Rubin from Washington DC. And Susan Rubin has No children. WE GOT the RECORDING!

Take a listen above ^^^ to one of the craziest 311 calls in history.

As promised, here is Susan Rubin’s Fraudulent GoFundMe campaign. Assisted by Jennifer Jablow. Make sure to click on the link inside the campaign. One says, “read more.” And the other link says, “older updates.”

Scott Smith – Below are a couple of my articles and audios. Then, my contact information. My platforms are at the very bottom.

There is No Tomorrow – Take the Drives Now

I was there. Rocky Remembers

Where is the Geneva Convention for Animals?

A Life of Purpose

Heaven and the Rainbow Bridge

The Second Amendment from the Perspective of an Animal

Love Conquers Addiction

Polar Bear – Blissfully Exquisite

GunMerica Strikes Again – The 4th Of July

Hurricane Maria – A Personal Story

Sincerely

Scott Smith
305 783 8600
SESinspiration@gmail.com

DriveWithCompassion.com | Facebook Personal | Twitter | EverybodyLovesSammy.com | Dr. Harp Seal – CoundCloud | LinkedIn | Instagram

I rescued Lucky off the street in Puerto Rico on May 10th, 2017. This picture was taken a few weeks after that. If I told someone who did not know this story, they would not believe it.

This beautiful boy in the picture is unimaginably strong, fast and smart. He’s also an escape artist as many of you remember. But, he always comes home because at the end of the day, Lucky and I really love each other. He usually pulled these antics when I left the house. Lucky has serious separation anxiety with me.

Then, I had to leave him behind in Puerto Rico for 6 months while I got set up in Florida. That did not help matters at all regarding his separation anxiety. Once I brought him over to the states, Lucky continued his escape artistry tactics in both of the houses we have lived in here in Florida.

About 2 months ago, he was surrounded by police on my front lawn and a big animal control truck was parked outside my house. I got hit with a citation, multiple warnings and neighbors who were pretty upset with me. Lucky has definitely accelerated the aging process for me.

But, I am reminded every night when he’s laying next to me, I will always be lucky in love with Lucky. This is a once in a lifetime love story.

Please remember to DriveWithCompassion. There are strays animals in the street.

You gotta love a woman who buys your mom and sister Christmas gifts and signs it from Santa.

I went to a midnight mass with my lady last night. The entire mass was in Spanish. It still might have been the coolest thing I have ever done in my ilfe. Yesterday morning I even went to my woman’s daughter’s cooking class at 10:00 am.

Am I Becoming a Domesticated Man? – Somebody call a doctor, lol. – I guess it’s true what they say: “The things we do for Love.”

Merry Christmas to all my friends and family out here.

Over the years I have given a lot of thought as to why Sunday is called “Sunday Funday.”

It’s not just because it’s a newspaper and coffee kind of day. Yes, that’s true. But that’s not all of it.

I really love Sundays and I finally understand why it’s such a fun day. Monday through Friday, it’s work work work. On Saturdays we catch up on personal responsibilities.

But on Sundays, we let imagination in the door and back into our lives. On Sundays, we get to be us again. The people we set out to be from the very beginning. Now is there a lot of freedom in that, or what?

If you’d like to hear the audio version of this message on the Dr. Harp Seal account on SoundCloud.

One of the founding principals of Marshall Arts is to use the enemy’s strength against them. Don’t try to out muscle someone stronger than you. Use their own weight against them. When your enemy is charging at you, step aside and push them in the direction they’re charging.

19 hijackers did just that using 4 planes and box cutters, and turned the 800 pound Gorilla upside down. They took down the Twin Towers, they severely damaged the Pentagon, and took a plane down in Philadelphia killing everyone on it. Not in a million years could anyone even dreamed that as a possibility. It was unthinkable and unimaginable.

Let’s remember, in February of 1993 there was a terrorist attack below the North Tower of the World Trade when a truck detonated killing 6 people and injuring 1000 people. A freaking disaster to say the least.

But that wasn’t good enough for the terrorists. And other terrorists organizations learned that traditional bombing attacks wasn’t going to work. NYC’s infrastructure was too strong.

So not only was 9/11 a life changing experience to the United States, but, it was a break-through for terrorists. They knew that success was found not by going up against the 800 pound Gorilla, but by going with him. Use their own strength against them.

Terrorists organizations having been practicing that same methodology here and around the world. The San Bernardino attack in California. Some of terrorists arrested in conjunction with that attack admitted they loved America’s loose gun laws. It was easy for them to kill a-lot of people. In July of 2016, a 31 year old terrorist took a rented cargo truck and ran over 86 people at a firework’s celebration. In October of 2017 in NYC, a terrorist sped down a bike-only path killing 8 people and injuring 11.

9/11 opened the floodgates of terrorism.

The take away for me is to be cognizant of my surroundings. If I’m in a crowded place, I am aware of that. I don’t get lost in the experience anymore. Same thing with concerts, which I don’t go to, but if I did, I’d have some safety rules for myself I did go them. Look at the Ariana Grande concert in May of 2017 at the Manchester Arena in England, a suicide bomber killed 19 People and injured 50.

My own personal timeline with the Twin Towers:

1. In 1975 I went to the Twin Towers with my father (hard-hat and all) as construction was in it’s final chapters. The landlords were inviting commercial real estate brokers to start marketing office space to their clients.

2. In 1994, I interviews with Wil Raub at Cantor Fitzgerald on the 103rd Floor. I did not get the job due to lack of experience. Wil was killed on September 11th, 2001. He was a nice man. He told me never offer to work for free on Wall Street.

3. I commuted through the Twin Towers to NJ everyday from 1995 util the summer of 2000. I spent a lot of time in those towers even on a social bases.

4. I lived at 300 Mercer street, a mile north of the towers when they were destroyed. I was never able to return home again. My apartment smelled like burnt rubber tires.

When I think of the B-line experience I had walking through the towers in 1976, to living near the towers when they fell on September, 11th, 2001 it all seems surreal. 19 years later surreal.

Thanks for reading

Labor Day is a federal holiday where we show our appreciation and respect for the American worker. We also recognize the American Labor Movement that has fought hard (and still does) for better wages, beniefts and working conditions for people all over the country.

Sammy always respected the working man. He, after all, was a working man himself. Sammy passed away on January 30th, 2020. He was my best friend and the love of my life for 15 years. And despite his passing, I will continue to include and write about him right here on DriveWithCompassion.com.

Happy Labor Day everyone.

Sometimes you just walk out of your house and your life changes forever. That’s what happened on May 10th, 2017 when I met Lucky on the street in Puerto Rico. From that moment on, I coudln’t remember my life before him.

It was a ordinary Wednesday evening on May 10th, 2017 in Puerto Rico. I was feeling kind of restless and hungy. So, I went to a local eatery for a sandwich. As I was eating I started gazing out the window very spaced out and preoccupied. I felt agitated and unsettled. I started realizing that I wanted out from the life that I was living at home. Then, I noticed this sweet boy in the picture with me living alone on the street.

I decided to buy him some food and sit down with him. I was so enamored with him that my head was spinning. Meeting this boy was a life changing experience for me. I pulled him off the street and had him boarded in a very fun place for 5 weeks. Every Saturday and Sunday I would go visit him. I started to realize that him and I are forever. So, I took him home and named him Lucky.

The truth is, the world wasn’t big enough for us to not find each other. This had to happen.

In September of 2017 Hurricane Maria pummeled Puerto Rico. As many of you might remember, I launched the “Lucky In Love Relief Fund for Stray Animals in Puerto Rico.” We raised $7,000 and bridged a fair amount of stray animals back to life.

When Patrick was killed in August of 2018, Lucky would press his head into my chest several times a day. He knew that’s where the pain was. He did the same when Sammy died on January 30th, 2020.

I’m so in love with Lucky that I coined the phrase and created a t-shirt that says “I Love My Dog Like A Crazy Potato.” And on the back of the t-shirt, it says “Love Doesn’t Have To Make Sense.

Six years ago I told the world “This is No Ordinary Love.” That still holds true today in 2023. I will always be lucky in love with Lucky.

That’s our story for tonight.

When you’re getting Flash Flood Warnings like this on Wednesday at 7:32 pm, and the water is right outside your front door, you better hope the rain stops. But, on Wednesday night, it continued for another 2 hours after the already 3 days of non-stop raining. The water eventually made its way into our house. It didn’t ask our permission. It just took over the entire house.

Wedneday night on April 12th was considered the rainiest day in Fort Lauerdale’s history. We live 20 minutes South of Fort Lauderdale also in Broward Country. The Fort Lauderdale airport was closed due to it being under water to the tune of 25 inches. My phone was blowing up with Flash Flood Warnings and messages like in the above picture. Cars were floating everywhere. Even SUV’s went down for the count.

The messages were letting us know this is a dangerous and life threatening situation. The following sentence in the message was referring to possible evacuation orders. That is the one that had me deeply concerned. Between my mother that can’t walk, my disabled sister and my 7 dogs, I would’ve had to decline an evacuation order. It literally would not have been possible.

This rainstorm brought me back to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and Hurriane Sandy in New York and New Jersey. Natural disasters are always very dangerous. No question about it. But, it’s the floods that take people’s lives and ruin their lives for a good while.

The takeaway from this post is that when a natural disaster is headed in to certain location, the people must also consider the aftermath and the flooding that they will probably be faced with. Because that’s when the real pain begins.

For now, we are back and we are OK.

Rocky remembers when I rescued him in November of 2015 in Puerto Rico. He also remembers all the altercations with other dogs over the years where I had to break up the conflict in order to protect him. This is a story about our life together.

It was an ordinary Thursday on November 19th, 2015 in Puerto Rico. I was walking my 3 small dogs at a nearby park. All of a sudden, this Pit Bull mix walked right up to us and sat down. He was a stray dog living on the street. He was frail and tick infested. I was pretty concerned for my 3 small dogs at that moment. So, I walked my little ones about 20 feet away. The stray dog came right over to us again and just sat down. I started to realize that this dog was no threat at all. He was letting me know that he’s just a boy and couldn’t make it alone anymore. He was at the end of the line.

I decided to take the 3 small dogs back into the house and then go sit with the stray dog for a while. I brought him some food and water. Over the next week or so, I bridged him back to life. Then, I decided to bring him into the family and named him Rocky. He never forgot that. Rocky remembers that I was there when it counted most.

Fast Forward to March 16th, 2018:

Many of you know this story. This was the morning that my ex-wife was screaming for me to wake up because our foster dog managed to get into the house and went right after Rocky. I woke up to my wife screaming at 6:30 am and Rocky yelping in pain like I had never heard before. I ran into the room like a madman trying to pull the foster dog off of Rocky. This dog had her full bite entrenched into the back of Rocky’s neck. I could not get her off him. She was part Pit Bull, Dalmation and Greyhound. She was as strong as an Ox and fast as lightening. So, what I did was I lifted up her back legs and pulled them upwards towards the ceiling. But she would not let go. I pulled her back legs up even further towards the ceiling. Then, Rocky started being lifted off the ground as her bite around his neck was now pulling him up too.

But that did not work either. And this is what I had to do friends; I had to let her back down to the ground and open her mouth with my bare hands. Now, mind you, my ex-wife was also trying to separate them. But I was taking the lionshare of the blowback for sure. I literally pried her mouth open with my fingers and hands and got them separated. It was difficult for me to type or text for the next few weeks that’s how beat up my hands were. I was there for Rocky again. He remembers that.

Guess what I did after that? – I cleaned my hands off and went to work. Guess what my ex-wife did while I was at work? She took pictures of her scrapes and bruises from the dogfight that morning. I did not know that at the time. 35 days later when we were arguing about money, she went to the courts and said that I pushed her twice on March 16th, 2018. And she Never mentioned the dogfight. So, in other words, after living together for 4.5 years, I just decided to get up at 6:30 am and start pushing my wife around. How sick is that? – That’s how we ended up in Dorado where Patrick was killed.

Fast Foward to April 3rd, 2023:

When the neighbor’s dog got loose and threw Rocky and myelf into crazy, scary and risky tailspin for several minutes. This was just a few days ago. And once again, I was there for my boy. Rocky knows that. We have had several other altercations with other dogs too. But, the point I am trying to illustrate is that I have always been there for Rocky. And he remembers each incident.

That is why he lays across my chest now like a big baby in the top picture of this post. I used to call him my Little Big Guy. He was little in the sense that he was only a year old when I found him in the park on November 19th, 2015, He was big in the sense that anytime we played or wrested together, I had black and blue marks all over my body. But, in a good way, lol.

I really love him with all my heart. That is why I was always run directly into the fire to protect him.

That’s the story of my restless warrior, Rocky.

I was walking Rocky last night at about 7:30 pm. It was still light outside. All of a sudden one of my neighbor’s dogs managed to push through the enclosed fence at his owner’s house. He was about 40 feet from us at that moment. I knew that I only had a few seconds to avert a disaster. Being I could not outrun the oncoming dog, I lifted Rocky up to my chest level. When the dog finally reached us, I kept spinning in circles so he would not have a clear path at Rocky. But, each time he jumped up his claws landed on my back.

Rocky was squirming like crazy in order to get out of my arms and face the dog head on. And that is exactly what happened. Now, my adreniline was sky-high as I knew this dog could easly tear Rocky apart. So, I jumped right in the middle of them and landed on my back. There was a lot of wrestling going on and both of their claws were landing all over me.

Then, I noticed something, the neigbor’s dog while wrestling and acting aggressive, was never actually biting Rocky or me. Every time that I pushed his head away with my hands or feet, the dog just turned his head away. No biting. No teeth.

We got very lucky last night. This could have easily been a trip to the emergency room for Rocky and several weeks of hardcore recovery.