Labor lawyer Terence Connor is not fond of small, yappy dogs

Big-deal labor lawyer Terence Connor.

Probably the only thing more annoying than living next door to someone who owns a tiny dog that constantly barks, is living next door to someone who owns two dogs that constantly bark.

That annoyance factor is multiplied exponentially when owners of these kinds of dogs fail to realize that their neighbors probably don't see anything cute or endearing about a dog that barks and yaps non-stop at all hours.



So, for one brief moment you might feel compelled to sympathize with the plight of Coral Gables resident Terence Connor.

UM law student Andrea Lopez, owner of a 10 pound Maltese and an overweight dachshund, called the cops on Connor after he admitted to her that he pepper-sprayed her dogs.

Gossip-meister Jose Lambiet reports that Connor, "a partner in the chi-chi downtown Miami law firm of Hunton & Williams and ... one of the top labor lawyers in South Florida," was arrested last Feb. 18 and charged with two misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty.

According to the police report, the 6-foot-2 Conner, 69, pepper sprayed his neighbor’s two miniature dogs – a dachshund and a Maltese – across the back fence of his yard.

The reason? They were barking. Or so he tells cops.

“He has sprayed water on my dogs before,” said Lopez.

[But] Lopez said she didn’t know why her pooches started running and squealing uncontrollably that morning. She managed to catch them and noticed they were foaming at the mouth and wouldn’t open their eyes.

“I thought they’d gotten near a toad. I didn’t even take the time to take off my PJs,” she said. “I rushed them to the vet. That’s where they told me that if was pepper spray.”

The dogs recovered but weren’t their playful selves for days, Lopez said.

When she returned from the vet, she confronted Connor. He allegedly admitted to pepper-spraying them. And he peppered Lopez with an impressive array of F-bombs, too. And he added the classic: “Do you know who I am?”

When cops arrived, they described Connor as belligerent.

According to the police report obtained by Lambiet, "Mr. Connor became very agitated and advised us that we [the cops] 'don't ever f**king do anything about the dogs barking' so he sprayed them."

And, in what could be the understatement of the week, an attorney who publishes the South Florida Lawyers blog, wrote about Connor's predicament, "I Don't Know About You, But This Doesn't Really Look Too Good."

And South Florida Lawyers offered Connor this (free) advice:

What about hiring a lawyer to say this is all a giant misunderstanding, it is completely out of character for anyone who knows him (I can vouch for that), not everyone is going to be perfect at every single moment, he's donating $1,000 to the ASPCA, and he's hopeful he can resolve this issue directly by speaking with his neighbor, all while not admitting that he actually did what is alleged?

That's great advice SFL! And perhaps, he might want to come right out and admit that he's a major a-hole! That is, after all, the first step towards rehabilitation.

Can't wait to see how this one ends.