I guess our family could be considered animal lovers.
We've always had pets around the house - dogs, cats, hamsters, rabbits.
Ozzi the Norwegian elkhound lived to be 13. He passed on a few years back. He was an awesome dog. His collar hangs on a post on the deck where he used to hang out all the time.
Ozzi was smart - too smart. When Nibbles the rabbit died, I found a nice spot for him in the woods south of the house. We didn't want to tell our daughter - who was very young - that Nibbles died, so we told her that Nibbles went to be with the other rabbits in the woods. Technically, that wasn't a lie.
Anyway, imagine my surprise the next morning when I found Nibbles' remains in the front yard, next to the rock where he always liked to sit when he was alive.
Ozzi ran up, as proud of himself as he could possibly be. He looked up as if to say, "See, I brought Nibbles home." I stared in disbelief for a moment and then chuckled as I grabbed Ozzi by the jowls, scratched behind his ears and emphatically said, "Good boy, Ozzi, good boy!"
I reinterred Nibbles much farther from home the second time.
Our Yorkshire terrier, Ping, suffered kidney failure and died at the early age of 9 a couple of years ago. We had her on an IV at home for a week or so, until it became apparent how much she was suffering. Mary said goodbye at home. Ping died in my arms at the vet's office later that day. She had an attitude, that one. It was so sad to see her go.
Now we have a pair of Shih-tzus - Dusty and Dewey. They are really quite lovable, and just mischievous enough to be cute.
This past winter, Cubby arrived. Cubby was a walkon - a long-haired stray cat that showed up on the front deck one day. You know if you feed a stray cat, it's no longer a stray.
We fed him.
He had issues. His eyes were scabby and matted and he had patches of missing fur where he had tried to groom the mites and fleas away.
But he was the most gentle, loving little guy ever. And he totally matched our shih-tzus. They all are the same shade of carmel and white.
So off to the vet Cubby went. Some shots, medicine and $160 later, Cubby was fixed, happy and healthy in his new home. The vet said he was about 6 months old. So far, Cubby has been an outside cat and he's earning his keep.
The other day as I walked out onto the deck a dead mole was placed neatly in front of the door.
Cubby loves to play with Dewey and Dusty. He lays on his back and paws at them as they nibble on his belly.
I was always more of a dog guy, but I have to say, Cubby is one cool cat.
All of this is just for background to give you a sense of my view of animals as a preview for the following.I was pretty peeved when I heard about the alleged animal abuse going on at the Animal Welfare League.
That's why I instructed a reporter to get to the bottom of it. And we will get to the bottom of it.
But these things take time and require a certain amount of care. Before you go printing allegations, you really need to attempt to get both sides of the story and any kind of documentation available.
These things almost always devolve into a contest of he said, she said and the ever-illusive truth lies somewhere in the middle.
A supervisor at the AWL says over the years the animal control officer repeatedly abused animals in front of the staff.
The director doubts that because there was only one report of that happening - to a "vicious" pit bull - and it seems odd to her that everybody on the staff would just look the other way.
She also says the supervisor had been written up and was on the verge of being let go.
So is this a case of a disgruntled employee trying to cause trouble or a coverup by the director?
People say the director knew the animal control officer was abusive and didn't do anything about it.
People who know the director say that's absurd because she would never allow animals to be abused.
We can speculate and hypothesize all we want, but the bottom line is, we simply don't know the truth. It's classic he said, she said.
I don't know any of these people very well. But I do know this about them. They all care very much about animals. Let's be honest. An animal shelter is not the most pleasant place to work. If these people didn't care about animals, they wouldn't be working at the AWL to begin with. It's not like it's a highly sought-after position.
The AWL has a board of directors loaded up with good, responsible people. Our county commissioners, county council members and county administrator have a pretty good handle on the situation. They all know the animal control officer because he's been around for 23 years.
If information critical to the handling of the situation is missing, I'm pretty sure these people will search it out.
Nothing's going to be swept under a rug. Nobody's going to be able to cover anything up, and we'll report the facts as they become available. We'll stay on the story, ask the questions and get the answers.
If somebody need to be fired, I'm pretty confident they're going to get fired.
In the meantime, let's not forget the mission of the AWL, and let's hope this controversy doesn't detract from it.
And while I fully detest animal abuse, I wish the same amount of angst and community interest could be leveled at other problems.
I would like to see members of the community writing letters to the editor, getting involved, organizing, holding meetings and demanding justice in response to meth cookers and child molesters, too.
