PUBLIC VIEWPOINT

Bentonville Should Be Ashamed

Bentonville is lucky enough to house an extremely hospitable population, a worldclass art museum, and the headquarters of the largest company in the world. These qualities and countless more make Bentonville a wonderful place to live for nearly everyone — except for those with four legs.

In its treatment of stray animals, Bentonville falls woefully short. The city’s glaring lack of an animal shelter speaks volumes regarding the priorities of the community. Bentonville’s neglect of its animals has only heightened the pressures on surrounding shelters. Having worked closely with employees of these shelters, I can attest to the dift culty of having to choose which perfectly innocent — and perfectly adoptable — animal must be euthanized to accommodate the newest arrival. For this diftculty, the city of Bentonville and its residents are responsible. It is wrong to pawn off the duty of caring for our own stray animals onto surrounding towns.

The city and its residents should be ashamed. This is an embarrassment to the community and is a critical issue that needs to be immediately addressed.

ALEXANDRA MARTIN

Bentonville

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