Spay, neuter dogs
I write in response to the Dec. 16 article, " 'Breaking point': Animal shelters across SC are overwhelmed with bully breed dogs."
Laws requiring pit bulls to be spayed or neutered, which can be supported by low- to no-cost spay and neuter programs, are humane, effective and badly needed.
In my 35-plus years of animal protection work, including as an animal control officer and shelter manager, I've seen firsthand that pit bulls are the most abused dogs, the most common breed in many shelters and the hardest to place responsibly.
Their strength, "tough" appearance and tenacity make them frequent targets for dogfighters and people who chain, starve and neglect them. Unsurprisingly, dogs that were bred to kill other animals and are disproportionately abused sometimes lash out, with fatal results.
But legislation can protect both dogs and humans.
Just 18 months after San Francisco passed a pit bull spay/neuter law, the euthanasia rate for these dogs dropped 24%.
After Lancaster, California, passed legislation requiring pit bulls to be sterilized, the mayor reported a 45% drop in violent gang crimes.
Two years after a temporary spay/neuter requirement for pit bulls was passed in Ypsilanti, Michigan, shelter officials applauded when the number of pit bulls euthanized declined significantly and the law was made permanent.
With millions of animals suffering from a lack of homes, no one should be breeding more dogs of any kind, especially a breed that is so frequently exploited.
TERESA CHAGRIN
Animal care and control issues manager
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
Norfolk, Virginia
When is it enough?
There was another school shooting in Wisconsin, the second in that state this year.
People said enough is enough, but as long as the gun lobby controls state and federal lawmakers, there will continue to be no reasonable gun control.
I believe it will be only a matter of time before people again say "enough is enough."
EDWARD KING
Goose Creek
Gifts of gratitude
A clear December childhood memory of mine is looking out our front window and seeing my father rushing out in his slippers, with his bathrobe billowing behind him, as he attempted to catch the city sanitation truck in order to give the men (no women then) their well-deserved Christmas gift.
With sincere, gloves off, look-you-in-the-eye handshakes all around, he would discreetly pass some folded bills to each smiling and grateful man. To this kid at the window all those years ago, it was a silent lesson in gratitude and respect.
In the brutal heat of August or the biting cold of January, the men and women of our sanitation crews deserve our yearly acknowledgement with a handshake and a sincere "thank you for your year's service" as we, in turn, pass a well-deserved and healthy tip of gratitude into their hands.
Be sure to remember the recycling crew, the faithful letter carrier and the early rising and punctual Post and Courier carrier.
Who knows, there may be a little boy or girl at your own window, witnessing a mother or father giving an unspoken lesson that might remain with them 70 years hence. It has for me, as I love and miss my father all the more.
FRANCIS X. MCCANN
Charleston
'Grinch' got the shaft
Why did Jim Carrey not get an Academy Award for his work in the movie "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"? No one on this planet could have pulled off that role. But, alas, it was a holiday movie.
Mr. Carrey, however, is forever the Grinch in my mind. Merry Christmas to one and all.
ROBERT LANE
Goose Creek
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