PUBLIC VIEWPOINT: Use Powerful Pellet Guns With Care

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Imagine the shock of finding your healthy, 14-month- old dog suddenly dead on his bed. That’s the horrible realization that hit my husband and me the evening of Nov. 15.

Our Doberman from the Doberman rescue league of Texas died minutes after a lively wrestling match with his companion.

We took his remains to the veterinarian and ordered a necropsy to help us understand why his life was cut so short. The vet reported our dog had been shot in the chest with a pellet gun. It was a very small entrance wound, the bullet moved through the heart causing death frominternal bleeding.

We believe the shot came from behind our house, since our fenced dog area is beneath our deck about 50 yards from the forest line. We don’t believe it was intentionally aimed at the dog. It was dark at the time and the bullet managed to clear the chain-link fence and hit the dog in a very vulnerable spot. The best hunting sportsman would have dift culty making that shot. We are still in shock, realizing such a thing could happen in a residential area with pets and children present.

Pellet guns are powerful.

If a shot from one can kill a 55-pound dog, it could also seriously injure or killa small child. I now fear for my granddaughter, who loves to play behind our home.

Unfortunately, she may not be safe there any longer.

This is a plea to anyone who owns, or knows of someone who does, a pellet gun to please realize its deadly potential and use it with utmost responsibility.

PEGGY ROSENTHAL

Bella Vista

PROCEDURES

TOO COSTLY

Iwas reading about the

Springdale Animal Shelter expansion in the Saturday, Nov. 17, paper.

There is a really sad storygoing on (and I would say criminal in a sense) when it costs more than $100 to spay or neuter.

The cost of having a pet spayed neutered is outrageous. Normal people can’t aff ord it unless they go without a week’s groceries.

If the price was more reasonable there would be a lot less homeless animals and less having to be put to sleep.

They wouldn’t have to expand the shelter and spend all those thousands of dollars if they would lower the cost of spaying and neutering.

SHARYN NEAL

Lowell

Opinion, Pages 7 on 11/29/2012