stinkydog

just me expounding on dog-related things in the news.. carry on.

Several people have sent me the link to this story about the ex-mayor of Alice, Texas who is in big trouble for stealing her neighbor's dog and lying about it. Long story short--her neighbors got a dog that she felt they did not take care of so when they left it with her and went on vacation, she told them that the dog had died and hustled the dog off to her twin sister's ranch. And oy, was she not very sly about it.

Now, I know what she did was wrong. I won't make any excuses for her. I don't think she deserves 10 years in prison and I think she was well-meaning, but she was wrong...

BUT..

Can I just point out, that these neighbors who were so upset over this dog

a) let the dog get flea infested, and then I guess overdosed it with chemicals so that it needed a blood transfusion. Fleas are bad in Texas. This is something that all dog owners battle. Around here, we liked to use a little something called--"baths". The dog was a shih tzu for crissakes. Not that hard to shove in a kitchen sink with some shampoo.

b) left this very sick dog and went on vacation

c) not only knew it needed a transfusion, but didn't give it to him.

Now, we all know that veterinary bills can be outrageous and $700 for a blood transfusion on a shih tzu is way beyond the means of a LOT of families--I don't judge them for that--but you know what? There are ways of dealing with this other than letting the dog suffer and taking your $700 to Schlitterbahn instead. For one, you take the dog to your local humane society and ask if they have any low cost veterinary care available or if they don't provide, if they can refer you to a vet who can offer a payment plan. Talk with your vet about treatment options that might be less expensive. Ask for help. I don't know about in Alice, but in other cities around the country, failure to give a dog medical treatment when you know the dog is in dire need constitutes abuse. But at the very least folks? STAY HOME WITH YOUR SICK DOG. yeesh.

In conclusion--ex-mayor/dog-stealer lady? Idiot. possibly dog-abusing neighbors? Also idiots. No winners here, folks.