Letter to the Editor

Dumping domestic animals off on others is cruel and irresponsible

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Dear Editor:

Today we laid to rest a small blond dog that we have known for the past 13 years as Sugie Bear. Sugie was a mixed breed and we were never sure of her linage or exactly how old she was because this information wasn't provided when she was dumped near our house in 1995. We saw her roaming the pastures and fields in our neighborhood for nearly two weeks before she approached us one day and in her silent way conveyed that things had been tough for her and she couldn't make it anymore without some help.

Besides being starved, she was pregnant, and after having her examined by a vet found that she also had heart worms. She gave birth to four puppies shortly after her arrival in the spring of that year but because of her own poor body condition she could not support them and she lost one a day for four days. She mourned the passing of each one in such a pitiful way that our hearts cried out for her. It was almost as if this was all she had in this world and now that too, was gone.

As time went on and her health improved we had her spayed and defeated the heart worms that threatened her young life, and within a year she had taken up residence in the house with us. To really get to know a dog you must spend a lot of time with them and since we work at home she was with us pretty much 24/7 for 13 years. In all that time I never saw her angry and she loved everybody she met, especially the kids. And kids loved her back. She had such a loving demeanor and yearning to please that she rarely needed scolding or corrected or placed under any kind of control other than verbal commands. Even in the last days of her life when her body started to fail her she seemed apologetic when she required some help to overcome problems she encountered and had no control over.

I suppose I should thank the person who dumped her near our home for the loving relationship that developed and we enjoyed for such a long time but I don't see it that way. I think the person that threw her away like a piece of trash and expected her to "root hog or die" is not only irresponsible but mean spirited and should be held accountable, if not in this life, then the next. I wonder, what if this person was thrown into an environment with no way to communicate, no survival training or hunting skills, and unwelcome at nearly every turn. How traumatic would they feel if they went up to a strange house for something to eat and get a kick in the teeth as sometimes happens to abandoned animals. In my opinion, dumping a domesticated animal is a cruel and inhuman way to avoid responsibility.

Darry Miller, Nevada, Mo.