The picture of Hero the Shepherd was so sad (and appropriate looking out a window as if wondering and waiting for a rescue from his hell hole). It makes me pause and ponder what goes through the mind of someone who could do something like this to an animal.
Do they not think Hero also has feelings, feels hunger pangs, or, while he watches you eat, wonders where his food is? If you can”t afford dog food it won”t kill your dog to give him people food temporarily.
And if you foresee long-term problems caring for your pet, why do you keep him? Give him to someone who will love and care for him properly. Foxtails in all four paws? What did he do wrong to deserve such malicious treatment? And malicious it is if you intentionally neglect an animal especially to this degree. If your finances are stretched, what about asking a friend or family member for help instead of letting this sweet dog suffer?
Try, really try, to put yourself in your pet”s place. Imagine hoping for weeks or months for food and it never comes. When you realize it never will come, you can only hope and pray someone will come and relieve your suffering. Imagine what the hunger pangs feel like. Really try to imagine the knot in your stomach and the pain and having to lie on a floor with no fat to protect the protruding bones. This is a travesty and an outrage!
We as taxpayers for Animal Control expect (and hope) Hero will get justice. This case cannot be about ignorance but rather intentional harm. Hopefully psychological counseling will be required of this person and/or they will be banned from owning animals in the future.
Danielle Holliday
Kelseyville
