Blame Game

The logic escapes me. Not surprising, but some days are worse than others.

I read a recent news article in my local neighborhood paper (yes, an actual newspaper) with the headline, "Dog bites woman, and is euthanized." Since this is my neighborhood paper, I decide to read further to find out if there was a dog on the loose and I didn't know about it.

It turns out the 2-year-old, 91-pound Akita had to be put down because it bit a woman in the nose and lips when she bent down to pet the dog.. The woman was treated for several days at Shock Trauma for her injuries.

The report said the dog had to be euthanized to check for rabies. Fortunately, the test came back negative.

In reading the story further, it turns out the woman who was injured was repeatedly warned not to pet the dog. Let me repeat: the woman who was injured was repeatedly warned not to pet the dog.

So, the woman gets bit and the dog gets killed -- all because the woman did something she was repeatedly told not to do. You can't see it, but my hackles are rising at the lunacy of the woman's actions.

In a small sense, I also think some of the blame for the dog's death has to fall on the owner's shoulders. Perhaps if the dog was up-to-date on its rabies shots, the animal wouldn't have to be destroyed to find out if the pet had the disease.

The onus and majority of the responsibility of this death lies in the lap of the injured woman. I feel bad that she got hurt, but I feel worse that her actions caused the euthanization of a family pet.

To me, this is akin to someone picking up a bottle of cleaner with the words, "POISON. Do Not Ingest," and then suing the cleaner company because the person drank it.

As I said, the logic escapes me. Unfortunately, a dog's life was lost in the process.

I can't stop shaking my head over this. Grrrr. And since I'm in a bad mood, why does a container of pure orange juice cost more than the same size container of some soft drink? Is the cost of growing something naturally more than mixing up a bunch of chemical to create a caramel-colored goo? In this day and age of healthy eating, how screwed up is this? "'Sowwy' doesn't make up for the fact that we had to reside in the unicorn stables for 36 days!"

Touch 'em all with me, whether you agree with me or criticize me. I like the way you think! Tell me your opinion. Add a comment below and tell me what you think or write to me if you want to join the ever-growing e-mail list to have my column delivered right to your inbox.