LETTER TO THE EDITOR — My wife and I were among the many people last Saturday out enjoying an afternoon at one of Washington County’s beautiful reservoirs. But the beauty of the day didn’t last.
Shortly after leaving the park, we were confronted with one of the most horrific things I’ve ever seen: An SUV driving towards us at probably 35-40 mph with a dog tied to the rear bumper. Several people were involved in getting the attention of the driver, and when the car pulled over and the driver exited the vehicle, her inconsolable grief made it obvious that this was an unintentional and tragic accident. The dog was transported to the emergency vet in St. George, where it was euthanized.
I never found out who this young family was. I was prepared to be angry at them, but instead my heart goes out to them. By all appearances, they were decent folks enjoying a lovely Southern Utah spring day, fishing and kayaking with their kids and the family dog. But they did one thing they never should have done — one thing I suspect other people do — one thing I’d like to ask everyone reading this to commit to never doing:
Please, don’t ever, ever, ever tie an animal to a vehicle.
Not ever. Not for a minute, not for a second. Not temporarily, not “just until” you do one other thing.
Not. Ever.
Etch into your brain that it’s one of those things never to be done. A line never to be crossed, for any reason, under any circumstances.
Promise me you’ll never tie an animal to a vehicle. Make your friends and family promise you. Check around you at picnics and parties, campsites and fishing holes. Don’t let anyone within your sphere of influence get away with it. Help me remind as many people as possible not to tie animals to vehicles. It’s an easy and fool-proof way to avoid the unimaginable suffering of pets and people alike, and it will insure that my wife and I and other folks won’t have to witness a horror like this again.
You might think you know better, but I learned this past weekend that, whether through a lapse in communication or a lapse of memory, it really is possible to forget where you tied the dog.
– In honor of a brave little blond dog and the heartbroken family that loved her.
Submitted by LISA McALEER, Ivins.
Letters to the Editor are not the product of St. George News, its editors, staff or news contributors. The matters stated and opinions given are the responsibility of the person submitting them. They do not reflect the product or opinion of St. George News and are given only light edit for technical style and formatting.