Sad Day, Sad County, Sad Country

ORANGE COUNTY, NC COMMISSIONERS TAKE PET DOG AWAY FROM LITTLE GIRL UNDER THE ADVICE OF ANIMAL RIGHTISTS

Picture this, Americans.

A little girl goes to a council meeting to talk about her best friend, a dog. Her mom won't let the dog in the house while she is in school during the day. So the dog stays outside on a cable run, with over 2000 feet of room to be a dog. She comes home from school every day in anticipation of playing with her friend, those wet kisses, a special time that only those of us who grew up with a dog would know. A best friend that never tells our secrets, doesn't get upset about mud puddles and creek beds, chases us on our bike for hours, licks our tears goodbye, and eats our vegetables under the dinner table because we don't like the way they taste. When mom and dad don't hear our cries in the middle of the night, it is this best friend that protects us from the monsters in the closet.

Mom and dad are doing some renovations on the house that leaves them with barely 800 square feet of living space. The dog, having nearly three times the amount of space, is now under scrutiny for being tied up for longer than three hours a day. So this little girl goes to her county officials and asks them for help. She pleads to them not to take her best friend away, she knows mom is the real law, and no is no. The dog must stay outside while she is in school, 5 hours longer than a proposed ordinance will allow.

Her daddy even gets up to better explain their situation, the dog has his shots, he goes to the vet regularly, he sleeps inside every night, he is a member of their family. And again, he is kept in a larger space than his 3 humans for half the day. But mom does not want him in the house all day long, he is too much dog for her to handle. So the family compromised, worked out a living situation for all involved, not always an easy task in the home.

This my fellow Americans happened right here in the heart of North Carolina, in Orange County. Of course they let this little girl keep her dog, right?

WRONG.

The council voted 4 to 1 to pass an ordinance that not only stripped this little girl of her best friend, it "took away some people's freedoms" as quoted by one of the county commissioners. While they exempted hunters, dogs used for "cultivating agricultural products", field trial and obedience dogs, and of course themselves, those supporting this ordinance ("Yet data is NOT gathered on the number of tethered dogs that bark, bite, or breed") cheered over the fact they destroyed the bond between a child and her dog.

Sure some "dogs deserve better", we do need to "break the chains" of dogs that are truly abused, but as clearly played out here in Orange County, this dog "deserves better" than his now obvious fate of becoming a shelter dog. His future depended on this county to "break the chain" that will now drag him down the euthanasia hallway. If these groups truly wanted to help the animals in Orange County, they would not have applauded a little girl's tears over the idea of her dog dying in their arms. They, like her family, would be reasonable and compromise.

Sadly, this dog will not be the only one in this county giving his life for ignorant legislation, which makes one wonder, what is the actual goal behind the anti-tether movement? Do responsible dog owners with diverse situations really have rights anymore?

And just who will this little girl grow up to regret? Her mother? Her government? Or her country?