To the Editor:
I am writing to commend Sherwood Olin and Kim Fletcher on last week’s article, “Dog shooting sparks Facebook furor.” Their reporting made the details of a complete situation understandable, helped to educate readers, and challenged us all the examine our own reactions.
I have witnessed my dog savagely attacked by another dog, who was a kind neighbor’s beloved pet. I have watched my affectionate, dog-friendly cat attack a neighbor’s more timid cat. I was very angry when my dog was mauled and very sad to learn that my cat was a bully, who could no longer live in our neighborhood.
Pet ownership requires us to be responsible to our own animals but also to those of others.
I would like to offer my sympathy to Nathan Brewer on the loss of his dog, Bentley, and on having to come to terms with Bentley’s “dark side.” I can understand why Nathan and Casey (Sullivan) were initially so angry at Lee Straw. Anger is much easier for many of us to express than is sadness.
I hope that instead of fueling people’s rage on Facebook, that they will seek support for their grief. Facebook offers us a place to assert our freedom of speech, but with freedom of speech comes responsibility for our words and the actions that follow.
Lee Straw does not deserve the personal attacks leveled at him by Casey Sullivan et al. Lee is a responsible neighbor and farmer, who farms partly in order to offer an alternative to the often inhumane, unhealthy commercial livestock industry. Farming is hard work, which requires commitment to animals with little financial gain.
I have known Lee for 25 years, since our daughters’ first grade field trip to Straw’s Farm. Autumn and Kate became close friends. As a young adult, Kate worked at the farm, learning to milk, feed, and care for the animals. Lee and Pebble were her teachers.
It is troubling for any animal lover to have to kill a dog. Lee tried to stop the attack on his sheep. He was unarmed when he arrived at the scene, where his neighbors had been trying unsuccessfully to separate Bentley from the sheep. If you’ve ever been in a situation where a dog is focused on attacking another dog or other animal, it is very chaotic and dangerous.
Lee was forced to use his neighbor’s gun in order to stop the attack.
It is understandable that Nathan and his friends would be angry at Bentley’s death, but Bentley would no longer have been trustworthy to be around other pets, farm animals, or even small children after succumbing to his violent, predatory instincts.
The LCN reported that Casey Sullivan would have liked an apology. I wonder if Nathan and Casey apologized to Lee and to their other neighbors for putting them in such a difficult and dangerous position. Everyone is sorry that this happened. Please, let us stop attacking one another.
Dorothy Petersen, Newcastle
