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Some Promises Are Better Broken
The notion that a promise is a promise is born of the very worthy goals of building character and integrity in young people, infusing trust into personal and professional relationships, and generally encouraging people to hold up their end of a …Read more.
Loose Dogs Say Cheese
Complaints about dog owners who allow their dogs to run loose are as widespread as promises from politicians. They're also as empty. As the following letter from a reader shows, it takes perseverance to bring an uncooperative neighbor and their …Read more.
Fire-Proof Your Pets
California is famous for more than its Hollywood roots and sun-drenched beaches. It's famous for its fires. Monstrous, majestic, devastating — California wildfires are often unfathomable feats of nature, at times triggered by inglorious acts …Read more.
Court To Uphold "Human Sacrifice Channel"?
Members of the United States Supreme Court had no shortage of hypotheticals on hand earlier this month as they wrangled with the First Amendment and the question of whether its free speech protections extend to images of animal cruelty.
Justice …Read more.
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10,000 Reasons Not To Leave Your Dog in the CarA dognapped chorkie, a $10,000 reward and a promise not to prosecute. All of this led me to wonder: Chorkie? A chorkie is a dash of Chihuahua and a dollop of Yorkshire terrier — in other words, a mutt, a mongrel, a mixed breed. On the night of June 5, in Concord, Calif., Debby Brown and her boyfriend stepped into a local eatery for some takeout, leaving Lexi the chorkie in Brown's locked car with the air conditioner running. Moments later they returned to find a broken car window and a missing dog. Brown and her boyfriend posted fliers around town and notices online offering a $10,000 cash reward for the safe return of Lexi, no questions asked. After several false alarms, Brown received a text message on Sunday that included a photo of Lexi. She told CBS News that she "knew it was Lexi the moment she got the text." The rest of the story reads as though Benji had guest-starred in an episode of "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency." Brown's boyfriend agreed to meet the senders of the text message in a Petco parking lot early Monday morning. Concerned for her safety, he told Brown to stay home. At Petco, the boyfriend swapped the cash for the dog, and mum's been the word ever since from both he and Brown. After all, a promise is a promise. As bizarre as this story is, it serves at least one purpose: as an anecdote for why it's not a good idea to leave your dog alone in the car. Most people know that it's never wise to leave small children alone in a car. Even with the windows cracked, they could suffer heatstroke, which can cause permanent brain damage or death. It strikes me as questionable that a woman who would offer such a generous ransom for the safe return of her dog wouldn't take minimal care to exercise one of at least three safe, viable options to locking her dog in a running car: — leave the treasured pet safely at home — pack the pooch into her bag and tote her into the restaurant, as so many owners of small designer dogs are wont to do — enlist the brief dog-sitting services of her boyfriend while she runs in to pick up the food, or vice versa. I'm no detective, but as it stands, the facts of this case don't hold a lot of water. Then again, neither does forking over thousands of dollars for a "designer dog" that is, in fact, no better or worse than any free mutt you'll find in a shelter. You just can't weigh a good dog in dollars. Woof! Dog trainer Matthew "Uncle Matty" Margolis is co-author of 18 books about dogs, a behaviorist, a popular radio and television guest, and host of the PBS series "WOOF! It's a Dog's Life!" Read all of Uncle Matty's columns at the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com, and visit him at www.unclematty.com. Send your questions to dearuncle.gazette@unclematty.com or by mail to Uncle Matty at P.O. Box 3300, Diamond Springs, CA 95619. COPYRIGHT 2009 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.
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