California Dog Rescue

The news today said Americans everywhere were glued to their T.V. sets watching this heroic rescue. I was watching in astonishment and I was not glued, as a matter of fact I watched it for less than 30 seconds.

What I'm about to say may sound a little hard, but before you get too exercised over it think it through. I grew up on a farm. I have owned (that's right owned. I did not adopt, rescue, save, or view them as my equal) all kinds of animals over my lifetime. I've owned horses, dogs, goats, pigs, cats, etc., you get the idea. When I worked as a police officer I had a police dog that would have given his life to save me. I loved that dog. I have loved most of these animals. Today nutty actors, singers, animal rights advocates attempt to elevate animals to the status of man. All this does is diminish the value of the human. We can abort unborn babies but don't be cruel to an animal which is a much more serious offense. Make sense?

The California dog rescue I believe occurred for a similar reason as the incident with the Colorado family who claimed their kid flew away in a balloon. For recognition, accolades, and the title of hero. When I was in law enforcement, back in the day we would not put a human life in jeopardy to save an animal. Trust me hanging beneath a helicopter is life threatening. We would not divert a helicopter which cost thousands of dollars an hour to operate to rescue a dog. In the middle of this flood disaster what if a person had been in need of a helicopter rescue. If a slight delay was caused due to the dog rescue and a person lost his life would the dog rescuer be a hero? If the helicopter ran low on fuel while saving this dog and had to refuel before continuing on the the rescue of a human would that make sense?

The dog bit the hell out of the hero. What if the dog was rabid? Would that be a fair trade off? The question of rabies was discussed this morning on television. What if the dog doesn't have rabies but becomes ill over the next few days. The test for rabies might need to be given. The test requires that you kill the animal and test it's brain tissue. Would not this heroic rescue then be for naught? The tax payers who are paying the salaries for the men and equipment might be better served in other ways than rescuing dogs. I don't want to see harm to come to any of God's creatures but please let's use a little common sense. A commodity that seems to be in short supply these days.

P.S. Based on my considerable experience with animals I will bet that eventually the dog would have rescued himself.

A. C. Smithson