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Puppy love?
In the days of the Wild West people naturally took care of their own problems when they arose.
If a coyote or bear came wandering onto their property, it was shot.
If a cattle thief came into the area and was caught stealing a few trusty Texas Longhorns, they were hung.
If a dog wandered onto their property and ate a few chickens, it was shot.
In each case, nary a word was said because that was the way it was. Right or wrong, everyone understood what the rules were and they played by them.
Reports have surfaced and accusations made from the Prairie Animal Rescue Society that the Town of High Prairie is handling things in the ways of the Wild West when it comes to dogs.
Apparently, things in High Prairie haven’t changed in a couple hundred years.
PARS is alleging that dogs have gone missing from the pound after receiving phone calls from pet owners whose dogs went missing from the pound.
In two cases, Terra MacLean was told by town officials the dogs had been logged in but were no longer in the pound.
In an email last fall regarding a similar issue, Town CAO Larry Baran had this comment.
“I did an investigation on the animals that were dropped off this summer. Sadly, they were not all adopted out as you had suspected,” says Baran. “I would like to say no more, except that I am confident that this situation will not be handled this way again.”
The issue in question happened in Spring 2006 , when three dogs went missing, and PARS addressed the issue with the town.
PARS let that incident go confident the issue would be resolved but the Town did nothing to stop the same actions from continuing.
So PARS persisted until the recent incidents. Baran then had this comment.
“All I can say is that we have made errors and I am working on correcting them. I have found some holes and I will be filling them.”
That was essentially the same promise Baran made many months ago but nothing was done. One could see why PARS decided to go public.
Baran could not specify what these “holes” would be, but he is adamant that these mistakes will not happen again.
As he promised months ago.
By last week the Town of High Prairie spun the issue around so fast it would make one’s head spin.
“We have a very good relationship with PARS, it is unfortunate that we had this misunderstanding but I think things will get better,” says Special Const. Alan Bloom.
Misunderstanding? Let’s face it. They were shot, as one Town employee has admitted.
All of a sudden, however, the excuse is the dogs were malicious, something PARS is not so sure is true. After everything that has occurred, the excuse suddenly arose just last week that the dogs were malicious so they were shot.
It certainly sounds suspicious.
In the days of the Wild West, that was how things were done. Today, we have PARS people who love animals so much they are willing to do something else to care for them. The Town of High Prairie has an option and to put it mildly, it’s clear that they are not using that option to its best advantage.
The days of the Wild West are over in High Prairie. It’s time some people started realizing it.
- C.H.C.
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