People come first
Ms. Wolf wants pit bulls and pit bull mixes to be taken off chains at times in Clearlake. Has she ever seen how fast and unexpectedly a dog can attack a person of any size?
My elderly neighbor and his small dog were walking and were attacked by two pit bulls two years ago. He was attacked and knocked to the ground, and his dog was very nearly killed. The last time I asked he told me that his dog”s vet bill alone was over $4,000, and growing. The owner gave false information regarding his name and address. Turned out he was destitute.
There are good reasons to keep potentially harmful dogs always on chains. When I was a child I was attacked while riding my bike in our neighborhood, as was my son years later. We did nothing to provoke an attack but both owners acted like it was our own fault because these were such “good” dogs.
I have a granddaughter, Hannah, who is 18 mos. old and has been ill and on blood thinners most of her life. She lives in an apartment. My daughter went to see her and was bitten by a pit bull mix from the next apartment. The owner had let out the chain too long and his remark was “lucky dog!” Our doctor said that if it had happened to Hannah she would have bled to death before we could get her to hospital. From my nursing career I know there are very many older people on blood thinners and how scary it is to get them quickly to hospital after a fall or other bleeding incident. I”ve noticed people are always on their own paying for their rabies shots.
On the network news last evening we were told how very important to our health it is to get 20 minutes or more exercise a day. I love to ride my bike or walk for exercise, but I encounter so many wandering dogs I”m reluctant to exercise as much as I”d like. Recently I had to swerve to miss hitting a small, friendly dog and nearly got hit by a car.
My sister in Ohio had to give up her long walks at the local park for the same reason three years ago. And when she was a small child she witnessed a ”good” dog attack her toddler friend next door. The child lost an eye.
All this is a shame and our streets and sidewalks need to be more, not less, people friendly. As the population ages this becomes ever more important to us. To me using exercise equipment is too boring and expensive. Being active outside and enjoying the scenery and weather is the best thing about this area to me and I need to feel safe while enjoying it. “People first” as Susie Orman says on her show.
Esther Lyons, Clearlake Oaks
It has been explained
I read the letter by Bill Kettenhofen (R-B, Jan.16) with considerable interest. He questions Charles Moton”s views on evolution by asking “How do you explain when paleontologists were dissecting a piece of T-Rex bone that was found in 2005 that it had soft tissue hemoglobin and blood cells? He then asks “Wouldn”t this indicate that dinosaurs were here just a few thousand years ago as opposed to the 60 million year evolutionist estimate?
It is curious that Mr. Kettenhofen did not cite any source of this information. As it happens, I read the scientific report some time ago that details the findings that Mr. Kettenhofen refers to, and he has made a substantial error in his account. The report on this topic appeared in several scientific journals, including the Smithsonian Magazine of May 2006, Discover magazine, April 27, 2006, Scientific American, Dec. 2010, and several others.
One of these articles in Live Science (Nov. 26, 2013) states that “The controversial discovery of 68-million-year-old soft tissue from the bones of a Tyrannosaurus rex finally has a physical explanation. According to new research, iron in the dinosaur”s body preserved the tissue before it could decay. The research, headed by Mary Schweitzer, a molecular paleontologist at North Carolina State University, explains how proteins — and possibly even DNA — can survive millennia. Schweitzer and her colleagues first raised this question in 2005, when they found the seemingly impossible: soft tissue preserved inside the leg of an adolescent T. Rex unearthed in Montana. “What we found was unusual, because it was still soft and still transparent and still flexible. Prof. Mary Schweitzer also stated that these samples go back to the Jurassic Period, which lasted from 145.5 million to 199.6 million years ago.
Obviously, Mr. Kettenhofen should be more thorough in checking his sources of information.
Charles S. Nicoll, Lucerne
Need more
Usually I read Mr. Kettenhoffen”s letters with interest. I don”t agree with most of his premises, but I respect his views and dedication. Besides, a smile goes well with morning coffee. However, on Jan. 16 he made a statement, in the form of a question to Mr. Moton: “(sic) Paleontologists examining a T. Rex bone found in 2005 that had soft tissue, hemoglobin, and blood cells” followed by his opinion to disprove evolution.
I feel Mr. Kettenhoffen owes his readers sufficient provenance to allow them to make their own decisions. Such information as the dating of the bone, dating of the place where it was found, and an appraisal of the condition of what he claims was found on/with the bone. Any other fossils in the vicinity, academic support and so on. Names of friends who frequent Jurassic Island will not suffice.
Guff Worth, Lakeport
Belief is not truth
One may believe something fervently, profoundly, and with absolute conviction. One may be so convinced that what you believe is true that you would give your life for it. That does not make it true.
Belief does not make something true. Very simple, irrefutable logic.
The 9-11 hijackers had absolute belief! Were their beliefs true?
Tim Snider, Lakeport
