Iowa Caucuses Ignore The Needs of Our Pets!

OK, lady. Time to step away from the keyboard and take a wee break. Chelle Delaney of New Mexico has penned an opinion piece for the Clovis News Journal (woah, big name in news) lamenting the fact that no major presidential candidates are stumping with their pets, and that none of them are addressing the concerns of those of the four-legged (Or winged! Or scaled!) variety.

She calls for the formation of a new, independent political party: The Pro Pet Party.

Get real!

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for pets. Love 'em. But is this something that the Fed'ral Gummit needs to be concerned with? Do we need federal mandates and controls over local animal shelters? Just think about how many things the feds do well, and I think you'll agree that it's in the interest of all pets that Washington stays out of the micromanagement of local pet issues (as in actual dog-and-cat pet issues, not merely "pet projects").

Am I wrong, here?

Hero, the happenstance rescue dog

A German Shepherd that had escaped from his yard came to the rescue of a woman who was in a car accident in Thomasville, Georgia on January 26th. Pretty amazing, and shows that dogs are capable of greater things than just causing disturbances in restaurants.

Shannon Lorio says that after her car careened down an embankment, the wayward dog found her bruised and battered on the vehicle’s trunk, pulled her by her shirt collar, dragged her about 50 yards through briars to a highway and let her lean against him so she could flag a passing motorist.

Click here for the full story.

(Image Credit: Elliott Minor / AP)

No Dogs Allowed!

The St. Petersburg Times (Florida, not Russia) has a rather snarky editorial by one Barbara Fredricksen that is gloating about dogs being banned at an outdoor restaurant that had been dog-friendly.

The restaurant, Moon Under Water, had been a pioneer in taking advantage of a new law passed in the Florida state legislature that allowed local communities to decide for themselves whether to allow restaurants to choose to allow dogs in outside eating areas. They've ceased to allow dogs, however, because of an unappetizing bout of indigestion by one of their four-legged guests.

Barb had "envisioned bitten ankles, fighting canines, mangled fingers and tripped waiters spilling scalding coffee over startled patrons," and seems delighted that the restaurant has reversed its policy.

It seems to me that it's a smart law. It gives the local communities the ability to actually decide for themselves, and then each restaurant can choose to take advantage of it if it's allowed locally. I think it adds to the local flavor and gives another way for the restaurant to differentiate itself to pet owners.

I've spent a decent amount of time in St. Petersburg (and Sarasota and Siesta Key), and there are already tons of dogs at a lot of seaside, outdoor restaurants. It's a social outlet for pet owners (and their dogs) to get together and meet new friends.

There will always be incidents like this with pets, just like there are always incidents like this with people. One incident trumpeted by someone who already was hoping for failure isn't proof of the idea's failure. My guess is here are several less publicized restaurants who allow dogs and are quite happy to stay out of Ms. Fredrickson's cynical eye.

What do you think?