Major Major Esteban Rodriguez

First, he silenced Bruce. Is he now trying to silence the community? It sure feels like it.

Photo courtesy of facebook.com/ADogNamedBruce.

As previously reported, on August 12, Ventura County Animal Services (VCAS) ended Bruce’s life — just as his rescuers and legal team were actively seeking emergency relief from the United States Supreme Court. Only a day earlier, VCAS informed counsel of its intent to proceed with Bruce’s execution.

Bruce’s attorneys immediately responded that they filed an emergency application with Justice Elena Kagan, the Circuit Justice for the Ninth Circuit, and expressly told VCAS that they expected the agency to refrain from killing Bruce until Justice Kagan had an opportunity to rule. VCAS killed him anyway.

VCAS was sued to stop Bruce’s execution after he was declared “vicious.” The destruction order followed several serious bite incidents that occurred when Bruce began acting out after his family became homeless. The Santa Paula Animal Rescue Center (SPARC), which originally placed Bruce with the family, filed suit arguing it retained contractual rights to the dog under their 2023 adoption agreement.

While VCAS relied on those bites to classify him as dangerous — arguing that “the physical and emotional impacts of those incidents” should not be “lost in the public discussion” — SPARC did not ask the government to ignore Bruce’s history. Instead, they offered a practical solution designed to address it: transferring Bruce to a sanctuary. VCAS, however, rejected it out of hand.

Adding insult to injury, a meeting of the VCAS Advisory Commission was abruptly cancelled with no reason given. Dan Bolton, Bruce’s lawyer, called the cancellation “unusual, given the importance of these meetings for accountability and transparency, and the June 17, 2025 Ventura County Grand Jury investigation recommendation of ‘re-engagement’ by Ventura County Animal Services with local rescue and foster groups.”

Moorpark Councilmember Renee Delgado later claimed “safety concerns” for the cancellation without offering any proof, further explanation, or why they could not switch to zoom or other protective measures short of cancellation. As such, it is not difficult to opine what might be the real reason it was called off.

This was the first meeting after Bruce’s killing and Bruce’s killing was going to loom large with members of the public. This included seeking answers to the following questions:

Why did VCAS director Esteban Rodriguez reject sending Bruce back to SPARC given that they have sent other dogs with troubled histories there, including dogs “exhibiting ‘severe aggression,’” who “could not be safely handled” and had “a poor prognosis” for successful rehabilitation?

Why did he reject sending Bruce to a qualified sanctuary which SPARC offered to pay for?

Why did he reject the other non-lethal options presented for Bruce that would have similarly protected public safety without needlessly ending his life?

Given that VCAS’s own records described Bruce as a “model citizen,” including bonding with kennel staff, adapting well to a stable environment, eating treats from handlers’ hands, and having “no documented bite, attempted bite, charge, lunge, snap, or aggressive handling incident,” why didn’t elected and appointed officials intercede on Bruce’s behalf?

In Joseph Heller’s Catch-22, Major Major Major is promoted to Major even though he is not qualified. Not surprisingly, Major Major Major Major is out of his depth.

To avoid being held accountable, Major Major institutes an “open door” policy that no one is permitted to see him in his office while he is in it. If he leaves his office, people are allowed to enter — but since he isn’t there, they still can’t see him.

Major Major is the ultimate caricature of the unaccountable leader — someone who holds power and collects a public paycheck, engages in doublespeak and obfuscation, and then cannot be found the second real-world conflict arrives. Ventura County officials seem to have adopted his playbook.

Rather than face the public to account for their decisions, Rodriguez and his enablers appear to be hiding behind closed doors and cancelled agendas.

There’s a word for that: cowardice.