I was angered and disgusted when I first read about this the other day and am no less no now.

Krystal Hernandez and boyfriend, Michael Gonzalez, were rushing Krystal’s little poodle, Missy, to an emergency vet at about midnight on August 5th after the dog choked and collapsed. A police traffic stop by San Marcos Police Officer Paul Stephens effectively ended any chance to save the dog’s life, Missy died at the scene.

This is just a sad and tragic story! Krystal and Michael got home from visiting a friend shortly before midnight and fed Missy. She choked and collapsed. They tried to unblock her airway without success, then like most any loving, caring pet owners, they rushed to get emergency help, at a 24-hour veterinary clinic in New Braunfels.

Yes, they were panicked… yes, they were driving at excessive rates of speed, up to 95 mph. Under those conditions, I cannot fault the officers for stopping them. It’s what happened after he stopped them that he can be faulted for. His lack of sensitivity and callousness, inept handling of the situation, effectively killed killed the dog.

Instead of getting a handle on the situation quickly and trying to help, maybe even escorting the young couple to make sure they wouldn’t be an accident, Police Officer Paul Stephens wasted time, told them to “chill out, it’s just a dog, you can always buy another” or words to that effect.

“Instead of helping us, he asked Michael what he was on,” Hernandez said.

She said they begged to be allowed to take the dog to the clinic, also asking that they be allowed to turn themselves in to be ticketed or arrested or for Stephens to detain Gonzalez there while she drove the dog to New Braunfels.

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This is Sheba, a 2 year old Doberman Pinscher and she weighs only 28 pounds! The proper weight for her breed as an adult dog is between 65 - 90 pounds. As you can see, every bone is visible, she has little to no muscle left, a skin covered skeleton!

Last Saturday Sheba was running loose and thankfully was picked up Butler County Animal Friends Humane Society.

“This is one of the worst cases of neglect I have seen,” said humane society Executive Director Meg Stephenson. “Every bone in her body was visible. No animal should ever have to suffer like that.”

Sheba’s owner, Reita Huff, was pulled over on Wednesday, a traffic stop, for operating an unsafe vehicle. She’d been identified as Sheba’s owner and during the stop became combative with officers. They Tasered her!! Maybe I shouldn’t take any pleasure in that, but take a look at that poor dog!

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Last night, to honor the memories of the 80 dogs so cruelly slain by Elmer Zimmerman of E & A Kennel and brother, Ammon Zimmerman of A & J Kennel, a candlelight vigil was held with more then 100 people in attendance.

“Animal advocates representing Lancaster’s United Against Puppy Mills, Main Line Animal Rescue in Chester Springs, North Penn Puppy Mill Watch in Montgomery County, New Jersey Consumers Against Pet Shop Abuse, Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and various other organizations sang “Amazing Grace” and left 80 chrysanthemums and 80 dog biscuits by Zimmerman’s tractor in memory the 80 dogs shot to death by the brothers.”

“These were dogs with no names. These were dogs that none of us ever knew,” said Jenny Stephens of North Penn Puppy Mill Watch. “These were dogs who never knew the kindness a human hand can offer and these were dogs who died a violent and terror-filled death with no one to comfort them.”

“We’re doing this to give animal advocates and dog lovers a chance to say goodbye to these dogs that were brutally slain,” said Stephens.

On July 24, after receiving poor inspection reports and told to have their dogs checked by a vet, Elmer Zimmerman shot his 70 small breed dogs and threw them on a compost pile and his brother, who was not facing any citations, killed 10 at about the same time.

The contact the state Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement and told them they were shutting down their kennels and although they could have easily turned the dogs over to a shelter or rescue, they decided to kill them all instead. Many of those gathered saw the Zimmermans’ actions as nothing less then cruelty done out of spite against Gov. Ed Rendell’s proposed legislation, HB 2525, to curb the lucrative puppy mill business.

“The decision by commercial breeders to kill healthy dogs instead of paying to repair a kennel and seek veterinary care is alarming and will likely outrage many people,” state Secretary of Agriculture Dennis Wolff said in a statement released earlier this week. “Until our state’s outdated dog law is changed, kennel owners may continue to kill their dogs for any reason they see fit, even if it is simply to save money.”

“It absolutely sucked the wind out of me when I heard,” said Libby Williams of New Jersey Consumers Against Pet Shop Abuse. “Is there no end to the depravity of these people? I do think it was spite. But they did the state a favor. People are now learning the truth about the ‘gentle’ Plain people. And this has been in every newspaper across the country.”

“It’s not uncommon for puppy millers to shoot or drown their dogs instead of spending money on medical care,” said Howard Nelson, CEO of PSPCA, cut short his vacation by a day and drove straight to the vigil after he heard the news. “There may have been some spite in this case, but I’m just calling it pure evil.”

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Been waiting to see this come down, the newly proposed legislation out of Omaha about ‘dangerous dogs.’ They’ve got a few other things thrown in too for good measure. There didn’t outright ban pitbulls but the do have some targeted measures among the ordinances. It’s not as bad as it could be or as bad as I seen, but BSL is still BSL.

Some of the proposed changes I agree with and some need to be tossed out like the trash they are.

This sweeping proposal, which is it is passed by the Omaha City Council, could take effect as early as October 1st. It comes on the heels of an attack on a 15 month old baby in June. The attack was by a pitbull or pit mix, undoubtedly owned by someone it should not have been, untrained or not properly trained or socialized.

I am almost getting to the point that when it comes to pitbulls or any breed of dog that could potentially be labeled ‘dangerous’, that potential owners should be tested before they are even allowed to have these dogs. Then maybe we could weed out problem owners; thugs, punks, gang members, toughie wanna-be’s, etc. If the wrong people were not allowed to own these types of dogs, most all of the problems could be solved right there!! Now that’s some breed specific legislation I could get behind. Target owners, not the dogs!!

Mayor Mike Fahey has decided not to ban pit bulls.

Instead the city is planning to go after what are known as “potentially dangerous animals” trying to stop dog attacks before they start.

Potentially dangerous animals include all pit bulls, and any breed that injures, chases, or acts menacing. Judy Varner is the Executive Director of the Humane Society, “These are dogs who haven’t bit yet, these are dogs who are showing the propensity to bite.”

Any dog labeled as potentially dangerous wouldn’t be allowed out, unless it’s on a short leash and muzzled.

Here’s a summary of what Mayor Mike Fahey put together;

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