Will lawsuit over Pam Robb death expose history of dog who killed her?

Pam Robb and Gladys, the dog who killed her.  (Beth Clifton collage)

Surviving spouse files against 100+ Abandoned Dogs of Everglades Florida

FORT LAUDERDALE,  Florida––A lawsuit filed against the rescue group 100+ Abandoned Dogs of Everglades Florida by Angela Anobile,  the 25-year life partner of fatally injured volunteer Pam Robb,  may eventually shed new light on the history of Gladys,  the 125-pound Cane Corso,  or supersized pit bull,  who killed her.

Gladys,  a “rescue dog” of mysterious origin,  on the morning of February 17,  2022 mauled Robb,  71,  and fellow volunteer Jan Halas Stenger,  51,  in an exercise yard at the Rescue House One shelter operated by 100+ Abandoned Dogs of Everglades Florida in Oakland Park,  Florida.

(See Pit bull star of 100+ Abandoned Dogs of Everglades Florida kills volunteer.)

            100+ Abandoned Dogs of Everglades Florida founder Amy Restucci Roman,  52,  and her life partner Carol Daniello,  50,  lived in one of two houses on the premises.

Pam Robb & Angela Anobile.
(Facebook photo)

“Robb had no way to defend herself”

Gladys was retrieved from apparent abandonment in the Everglades on January 15,  2022.

            Anobile contends in her lawsuit,  summarized Florida Sun Sentinel reporter Susannah Bryan on November 30,  2022,  that Robb,  a six-year volunteer for 100+ Abandoned Dogs of Everglades Florida,  that Robb “had no idea the dog was dangerous enough to attack and kill one of her kind-hearted helpers.  When the dog went on the attack,  Robb had no way to defend herself.”

Robb,  who reportedly weighed substantially less than Gladys the dog,  suffered multiple puncture wounds from bites to 11 parts of her body,  plus nine fractures.

“Described by family and friends as a gentle soul,”  Bryan continued,  “Robb taught physical education,  health science,  yoga and meditation for more than 40 years.  She started working with the rescue group after retiring from her teaching job at Cooper City High School.  Robb spent long hours at the rescue center in Oakland Park.”

Pam Robb & Gladys.

“She was there alone when the dog attacked her”

“She was there alone when the dog attacked her,”  alleged attorney Michael Shepherd,  representing Anobile.  “Then someone came and they were trying to save her.  They didn’t immediately call 911.  They tried to get the dog away from her by giving it a dog bone and splashing it with water.  If they had training,  they’d know the first thing to do would be to call 911.”

The Anobile lawsuit accuses 100+ Abandoned Dogs of Everglades Florida,  Bryan enumerated,  of “Failing to have policies and procedures in place for when animals attack,  failing to adequately and properly train employees on how to respond when animals attack,  portraying to the general public that the dog [Gladys] was anything but violent,  luring members of the public onto the premises by claiming the dog [Gladys] ‘needs your love and support,’  failing to adequately warn volunteers that the dog [Gladys] was dangerous,  failing to provide Robb with proper protective equipment and failing to possess equipment to separate the dog from Robb,  failing to have a muzzle over the dog’s snout,  failing to call 911 in a timely fashion,  failing to render first aid to Robb,”  and “failing to use lethal means to stop the dog from harming Robb.”

Amy Roman & Carol Daniello,  of
100+ Abandoned Dogs of Everglades Florida, Inc.  (Facebook photo)

Response blames the victim

Neither Amy Restucci Roman nor her attorney,  Paul Milberg,  offered Florida Sun Sentinel reporter Bryan an on-the-record comment,  Bryan wrote.

However,  a preliminary response to the Anobile lawsuit filed on July 27,  2022 “alleges that, at the time of the subject incident,  the Decedent [Robb] was negligent, and such negligence on her part was a competent producing cause of the injuries and damages which are claimed;  and the Plaintiff’s award,  if any,  should be reduced proportionately based on the Doctrine of Comparative Negligence in relation to the Decedent’s own contribution to the injuries and damages sustained.”

The preliminary response also avers that “The Decedent expressly released,  waived,  and agreed to hold harmless the Defendant from any liability and damages regarding the subject incident alleged in the Complaint,  on behalf of herself,  her assignees, heirs, guardians, and legal representatives.  As such,  Plaintiff’s claims are barred as a matter of law.”

Gladys as found in the Everglades.
(Beth Clifton collage)

A waiver does not erase rights in cases of wrongdoing

Further,  the preliminary response says,  “Defendant affirmatively asserts that the Decedent knowingly,  voluntarily,  intentionally,  and irrevocably waived the right to a jury trial for the actions asserted in Plaintiff’s Complaint.  As such,  Plaintiff’s demand for Jury Trial should be stricken.”

As a basic precept of personal injury law,  however,  a person signing a waiver––regardless of what the waiver states––may not waive the right to seek redress for losses and injuries caused by either gross negligence or criminal actions to which the signee was not a party.

Other former 100+ Abandoned Dogs of Everglades Florida volunteers have alleged through a variety of media that Amy Restucci Roman was negligent in allowing Robb to work with Gladys,  as well as in a variety of other situations involving volunteer contact with dangerous dogs.

Arrow shows where Gladys was found.
(Google map photo)

Did investigation overlook evidence?

ANIMALS 24-7,  meanwhile,  on February 28,  2022 questioned whether 100+ Abandoned Dogs of Everglades Florida and whatever law enforcement agencies were involved in bringing Gladys out of the Everglades overlooked significant behavioral and physical evidence that Gladys was there,  in need of rescue,  because she had survived an otherwise unwitnessed incident in which her previous owner may have died,  somewhere near where Gladys was found at geo location 26.353007,-80.901547.

(See Was Gladys the killer Cane Corso witness to a previous human death?)

Specifically,  Gladys was noticed circa January 15,  2022 by two men who were fishing in the vicinity of a pumping station on Huff Bridge Road,  in Stormwater Treatment Area 5/6,  adjacent to the Rotenberger Wildlife Management Area.

Gladys where found.  (From 100+ Abandoned Dogs of Everglades Florida video.)

Gladys sat vigil over the canal

Gladys was not near the road.  Indeed,  Gladys could barely be seen from the road by vehicular traffic heading north,  and was hidden from traffic heading south by the pumping station.

Gladys was found sitting vigil on a pile of “rip-rap,”  meaning big rocks placed to reinforce the shoreline just outside the chain link fence surrounding the pumping station.

It would be difficult to imagine a location less comfortable for a dog.  Yet Gladys was still there when a multi-car convoy from 100+ Abandoned Dogs of Everglades Florida and an animal control officer arrived to retrieve her several days later.

Gladys’ hindquarters injury. (From 100+ Abandoned Dogs of Everglades Florida video.)

Raw hindquarters & torn footpads

100+ Abandoned Dogs of Everglades Florida volunteers reported that Gladys had a raw patch of skin on her hindquarters,  believed to be from prolonged time sitting on the rocks,  and that her footpads were in rough condition,  as if she had at some point frantically scrambled up the rocks.

But the video from the scene indicates that no one questioned why Gladys had scrambled up the rocks,  or why she remained there,  only a few feet from a drainage canal,  but approximately 100 feet from Huff Bridge Road,  possibly visible only from the bridge itself and almost certainly unable to see any part of the road.

As there are no houses within miles of the pumping station,  the men who found Gladys and the 100+ Abandoned Dogs of Everglades Florida volunteers presumed Gladys had been abandoned by someone,  perhaps someone who deliberately drove her out into the middle of the Everglades hoping to permanently lose her.

Closest view of Gladys where found.
(From 100+ Abandoned Dogs of Everglades Florida video.)

Not typical dumped dog behavior

Supporting that presumption was that Gladys had never been microchipped and was not wearing a collar.

The notion that Gladys had been driven out into the Everglades and dumped played well with 100+ Abandoned Dogs of Everglades Florida donors and fans on social media.

Yet it failed to account for quite a lot.

To begin with,  Gladys’ location out on the rocks was hardly a convenient place for someone to have ditched her,  a substantial and hazardous climb away from where anyone could speed away in a car,  especially with a Cane Corso or supersized pit bull right behind.

Neither was Gladys’ behavior that of a typical dumped dog.  A dumped dog will normally try to follow the vehicle of the person who dumped her,  at least to the edge of the nearest main-traveled road,  and then either sit forlornly beside the road,  gazing in the direction of the vehicle,  or try to find her way home by following the road.

Close-up of Gladys where found.
(From 100+ Abandoned Dogs of Everglades Florida video.)

Fearful of noise but found in noisy location?

The 100+ Abandoned Dogs of Everglades Florida volunteers often described Gladys as fearful.  Founder Amy Roman herself said on video that Gladys was afraid of the outdoors,  of the sounds of cars,  trucks,  and motorcycles,  and even human voices.

Yet Gladys remained on the rock pile for days despite noise from the pumping station so loud that some of the volunteer rescuers said they could scarcely hear themselves talk.

No doubt the noise was unpleasant for Gladys,  but not to the point that she tried to escape from it by walking in either direction along Huff Bridge Road.

Gladys. Note the wide collar impression and browline scars.

Collar impression

Not mentioned in the many 100+ Abandoned Dogs of Everglades Florida videos and social media postings about Gladys was that she was found in good weight,  did not appear to have been neglected in any way,  and––though a smooth-coated dog––had the clearly visible impression of a wide collar on her neck,  along with scars along her brow line as if the collar had been abruptly jerked off,  over the front of her head.

Who would––or could––dump a Cane Corso or supersized pit bull by jerking the dog’s collar off over the front of her head,  simultaneously inflicting pain and pulling the dog toward the alleged dumper?

The alleged dumper would very likely have been severely bitten.

Gladys also might have been dragged briefly from a car,  or might have jumped from the back of a pickup truck.  That would explain the wound on her hindquarters,  the injuries to her paws,  and how the wide collar came off,  but not why she waited where she did beside the canal.

Gladys in the Everglades.
(Beth Clifton collage)

Heaved from bridge?

One alternative scenario coming quickly to mind is that Gladys was tied by her collar to a heavy object and pitched into the drainage canal from the Huff Bridge.  In that scenario Gladys freed herself and tore her pads scrambling ashore.

But if that happened,  why did Gladys not come ashore up the less steep bank closer to the bridge?  And why did Gladys then go to the rocks?

Even if looking for a hiding place,  there were many others just as secure that were easier for Gladys to reach.

(Beth Clifton photo)

Alligator?

A second alternative scenario is that Gladys was with someone who slipped,  fell,  jumped,  or was dragged into the drainage canal,  a known favorite haunt of alligators.

Whoever it was might have tried to escape from the canal by pulling on Gladys’ leash or chain.  Gladys might have torn her footpads trying to keep her grip on the rocks.  But the collar came off over her head.

More than 300 people have been attacked by alligators in Florida since 1948,  according to the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission.  At least 39 victims have been killed.

Alligators have often attacked a dog first,  injuring or killing a person who attempted a rescue.  And sometimes dogs have tried to save their people from alligators.

An alligator typically stashes large prey amid vegetation and mud along a bank for a few days to rot before completing the meal.

Many well-hidden suspected human victims of alligators have either never been found,  or identifiable remains have been found only many years later.

(Beth Clifton photo)

Homeless person?

But if Gladys’ person was killed by an alligator,  why was there no car abandoned nearby?

Why was no fishing,  hiking,  or birding equipment found at the scene?

One simple explanation might be that the person was thrown or pushed into the drainage canal by someone else.

Or––although the site is relatively far from Alligator Alley,  the nearest highway––the victim might have been a homeless hitchhiker or wanderer,  whose backpack went into the water with him,  or her.

Whatever the case,  thoroughly searching the scene,  including dragging the nearby part of the drainage canal,  might produce answers.

Jan Halas Stenger and pit bull Gladys.  (Facebook photo)

Previous mauling

Meanwhile,  Pam Robb was at least the second 100+ Abandoned Dogs of Everglades Florida volunteer to be mauled on the job.

WSVN television investigative reporter Carmel Cafiero,  now retired,  on June 16,  2015 detailed how 100+ Abandoned Dogs of Everglades Florida volunteer rescuer Sarah Martin,  19,  was mauled by five pit bulls when she and another volunteer were sent to pick up a dog named Taco in Riverview,  a Tampa suburb.

Details of that account,  which is no longer accessible online,  were disputed on July 27,  2015 by the Orlando Pet Examiner,  extensively quoting 100+ Abandoned Dogs of Everglades Florida founder Amy Restucci Roman and her partner Carol Daniello,  along with volunteer Jenn Kate,  who was present during the incident and was the senior representative of 100+ Abandoned Dogs of Everglades Florida at the scene.

The accounts by Roman,  Daniello,  and Kate tended to blame the victim,  Sarah Martin,  for allegedly entering the property where she was injured without permission.

Hillsborough County dangerous dog hearing officer Autumn George eventually released all of the pit bulls involved in attacking Martin back to their owner.

Amy Restucci Roman.
(Facebook photo from screenshot)

Financial questions

That,  though,  was scarcely the only controversy to surface involving 100+ Abandoned Dogs of Everglades Florida.

Amy Restucci Roman,  identified in 2013 by Susannah Bryan of the Florida Sun-Sentinel as “a former manicurist from Wilton Manors who has made rescue work a full-time job,”  started 100+ Abandoned Dogs of Everglades Florida in 2011,  soon joined by Daniello.

Within a year 100+ Abandoned Dogs of Everglades Florida ran into trouble with the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services for allegedly collecting donations before becoming a registered charity,  and because Restucci Roman allegedly charged personal expenses to the nonprofit organization.

Beth, Merritt, & Teddy Clifton.

“After months of negotiations,” updated Tony Pipitone of NBC-6 on May 1,  2017,  five years after the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services began investigating the 100+ Abandoned Dogs of Everglades Florida financial affairs,  “the group and the state [in April 2017] signed a settlement agreement that required payment of a $5,000 fine,  as well as modifications in how the group does business.”

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