Letters

From You

Public Apology

originally published June 28, 2006

I would like to send this message as a public apology to Mr. Falke [Letters, June 14] for endangering his life and for being terribly rude. The truth is I was having a terrible day. I have several large kidney stones and was both irritable from the pain and in need of a restroom. Such things happen no matter what situation you find yourself in, and they always seem to happen at the most inopportune times. Again, I am very sorry and hope the best for you. I have learned my lesson, both due to a pain-stricken conscience and to your letter.

Name Withheld Email

Name Withheld

Email

Letters

From You!

Dogs And Angels

originally published June 28, 2006

I’m sure that you’ll receive plenty of letters in response to Gordon Lee Stelter’s “Dogs Not Angels” letter [June 21], but I still feel compelled to respond to what is certainly one of the more asinine things I’ve read in awhile (if the letter is, in fact, meant to be taken seriously).

Gordon (I’ll just go ahead and address you directly, in the off chance you’re reading this), it seems ridiculous that you would even take issue with the “deceptive” name of the Canine Angels organization. Regardless of whether the organization itself was angelic, why take issue with the morality of attempting to better the condition of a living creature? It’s an extremely puzzling stance to take, especially from one who would, in this exact same letter, appear to be an advocate of vegetarianism and peacefulness.

Not everyone has to like dogs (it’s clear you don’t, maybe as an after-effect of watching one attack your sister as a child, as you mention), but caring for or loving any animal does not lessen efforts to improve life for human beings. In fact, I wager that people who are compassionate toward animals in any way would also tend to be compassionate toward improving the human condition. It’s not an “either/or” division of philanthropic energy.

Devoting compassion to the welfare of animals - I’m sure you can find another Indian guru to back this up - is a perfect fit in the puzzle of being stewards of the Earth and every living thing on it. As you also appear to be a fan of Christianity, perhaps the concept of stewardship - for all living things - is something familiar to you.

I wish you luck in your own (no doubt) stellar efforts in rescuing starving children.

Mary Jessica Hammes Athens

Mary Jessica Hammes

Athens

Letters

From You!

Doggonnit!

originally published June 28, 2006

Hey, Flagpole guys… I was gonna go point by point and kind of talk rationally about Gordon’s letter [June 21] regarding Canine Angels, but you know what?  Fuck that guy.  Seriously.  Okay, dude, so you don’t like dogs.  We get it.  Now will you please shut the hell up?

Thanks for your time.

Robert Newsome Athens

Robert Newsome

Athens

Letters

From You!

Pet Protection

originally published June 28, 2006

Thanks to Flagpole for Jessica Kennedy’s article on the Athens Area Humane Society [June 7], and hats off to AAHS’ staff and volunteers for their incredible dedication to helping animals in our community. I’d like to respond to Marci White’s letter [June 14] about AAHS staff “grilling your standard, upright citizens” who want to adopt a cat. I have interacted with AAHS staff on a number of occasions and have found them to be friendly and professional. I first went to AAHS a few years ago after a stray kitten appeared on my doorstep one night; AAHS was full at the time, but directed me to a no-kill shelter that quickly found him a home. I went again later to accompany a friend looking to adopt a cat, and like White, she bristled at the questions she got. Basically, the AAHS staff wanted to be confident that she had fully considered the care and commitment involved in owning a cat, and she really hadn’t. She instead adopted a dog from another shelter that didn’t grill her, but a few months later started talking about returning her dog to the shelter when she graduated and moved away. She meant well, but she probably just wasn’t ready to take care of a pet in the long-term. This is one of the scenarios AAHS seeks to prevent by carefully screening applicants. Finding good, long-term homes for abandoned animals means making their well-being a priority - even if that means annoying people sometimes. In the end, White sounds like a happy owner of a happy pet – so it looks to me like AAHS did its job!

I’d like to add that anyone with any experience at an animal shelter witnesses incredibly sad stories of animal neglect and cruelty, and believe it or not, many of these cases may be the result of well-meaning individuals. Here’s a case in point. Just this week at Animal Control (which handles dogs and wild animals, while AAHS handles cats and small domestic animals), there was a sweet, beautiful, eight-year-old dog named Nikki whose owners had surrendered her there due to a “change in living situation.” She had an open wound on one ear that could have been prevented or treated but wasn’t… Sadly, no good Samaritan appeared before Nikki’s time ran out. One thing can lead to another very quickly. What might be a change in living situation for us can easily mean a death sentence for our pets. It is incredibly sad, and it happens all the time.

People who work at shelters are on the receiving end of more cases like this than most of us can imagine, and that means a lot of heartbreak. They also have very limited means with which to deal with the consequences of the carelessness with which some of us treat our pets. It just takes one person with an unspayed outdoor cat or dog, and pretty soon there are five more, and a while later five more, and then they can’t find homes for them all, and sooner or later they end up at the shelter. There’s an incredible amount of ignorance out there when it comes to responsible pet care. Another example is the fact that there is actually a law against allowing domestic animals to roam freely, yet so many people leave their cats outside to get lost, run over, or sick from FIV, due to a false perception that it is natural. Free-roaming cats also take a devastating toll on native wildlife. After habitat loss, cats are the primary killers of birds in this country, and birds make up only a fraction of their prey (the majority are small mammals and reptiles). In some cases feral cats have wiped out entire populations of native animals. It’s not their fault - hunting is what they do! The problem is our own irresponsible behavior in neglecting and abandoning our pets, and then not wanting to deal with the consequences.

Shelter staff do a lot of community educating on top of everything else, and they do a tremendous, often thankless job. If we want to lessen the number of animals killed through our negligence, let’s give local animal shelters a hand by educating ourselves and each other about taking responsibility for the animals in our community. This is more effective than nitpicking an adoption screening process designed for the well-being of both pets and owners, and it will save more lives. AAHS and other shelters do an outstanding job of caring for animals in our community; they deserve our appreciation and support.

Nico Dauphine Athens

Nico Dauphine

Athens

Letters

From You!

Paving Paradise

originally published June 28, 2006

I am encouraged by Commissioner Carl Jordan’s words relating to parking costs in downtown Athens. The Commissioner’s argument that low parking fees encourage people to drive (rather than walk, bicycle or ride transit) downtown shows sound reasoning built on theories of urban planning and economics, and provides a solid basis for envisioning our community.

If all - or just five more - of our commissioners felt similarly, Athens would be even more livable than it is now. More of us might think not only about daily decisions such as how we reach certain destinations, but also about larger concerns like where we live. Fewer of us might be able or inclined to maintain that our transit system is inadequate, that our roads are unsafe, and that our sidewalks are too few and far-between to go virtually anywhere without driving. And just as many, if not more, of us would conduct personal and/or business affairs downtown - don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

The recent Athens Banner-Herald piece highlighting the potential lack of funds for the proposed downtown parking deck also brought a smile to my face. While I understand that merchants are inclined to think that more parking means more customers and less parking means fewer customers, this is typically not true. In reality, more parking means less of “downtown” itself - the essential identity of Athens-Clarke County - and less parking means more space available for the kind of personal, unique establishments that draw people there.

Across the United States and throughout the world, downtowns that are well served by transit, and that are easily accessible by way of safe bicycling and walking facilities, are successful, livable, vibrant and economically thriving places. Cheers to Commissioner Jordan for bringing up this important issue.

John Devine Athens

John Devine

Athens

Letters

From You!

Tofu Baby Needs Changing

originally published June 28, 2006

Seriously, this has got to stop.  I have never hated a “comic” so much in my life.  I get so angry when I see this waste of space, I am forced to create my own comics  that have DFACS come take away the exploited Tofu Baby.  I am serious.  I have already done two based on how terrible last week’s was.  This week’s really takes the moldy tofu cake.  If you guys are hurting for cartoonists, I am quite sure there are plenty available in the area, including myself.  I love your magazine, and eagerly await each week’s issue, but I may have to swear off it if I see that damn talentless cube one more time.  It sends my blood pressure into orbit. 

Please help.  It really is terrible.  Free the Tofu Baby.  It is time for it to go its own way, and I can’t bear another week’s insult to my intelligence.

Otherwise, keep up the good work, love the mag.

Frustrated Reader And Mandated Reporter Of Tofu Exploitation Athens

Frustrated Reader And Mandated Reporter Of Tofu Exploitation

Athens