Mayor releases 10 dogs into forest due to bad conditions at shelter, gets fined

[The Straight Story]

Helena-West Helena Mayor fined by US Forestry Service

Helena-West Helena, Ark. -

Helena-West Helena Mayor James Valley has been fined for ordering a city employee to release multiple dogs into the St. Francis National Forest.

He was order by the U.S. Forest Service to pay a $1,900 fine and they say the mayor broke the law by abandoning property in a national forest.

Back in June, the mayor had 10 dogs released into the forest, saying it was necessary because of the poor conditions of the local animal shelter. A few of those dogs ended up getting shot by a local resident who saw them on his property.
Some of the others were found by animal rescue workers.

The money from the mayors fine will be given to Northeast Arkansans for Animals.

http://www.helena-arkansas.com/news/x16581028/Breaking-news-Helena-West-Helena-Mayor-fined-by-US-Forestry-Service

[Liberal Veteran]

1. That's a REALLY bad idea.

Domestic dogs are not wolves and they don't deserve to be treated as wild animals.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

2. And there my dog sits, minding her own business.

I have to grab her an give her a big hug every time I hear one of these stories.

I just don't understand how someone can be so cruel AND stupid.

[firedupdem]

3. I just hugged my dog. What an ignorant fucker this guy is...

they need to leave his ass in the forest and tell him to fend for himself and see how he likes it. Asshole!!

[Solon]

4. What a fucking idiotic thing to do, he condemned them to starve to death...

Most dogs have no clue how to hunt.

[XOKCowboy]

5. It happens more than you know...

Our place is 10 miles from town and we deal with abandoned dogs all the time. Those that survive tend to pack up and yes we've had to shoot them from time to time to keep them from harassing the livestock and our household animals.

One of our farm dogs was abandoned but kind of adopted us. She's a blue heeler and was severely traumatized by someone earlier in her life. Even now she flinches if you move too quickly around her. She was lucky though. Abandoning a dog out in the country is usually a death sentence for them.

[Solon]

6. Oh, I know all about it, this country, hell this world, has a huge overpopulation of...

feral dogs and cats running around in cities and countrysides. Millions of animals, condemned to a short death, trying to survive on the fringes of human society because we don't even know how to properly care for animals we ripped from their natural habitats, domesticated, and then made them live within our own habitats.

I don't decry domestication that much, it happened thousands of years ago, before even civilization arose(for dogs anyways). And the symbiotic relationship we developed with them helped both species survive, if dogs were left in their natural habitat, and never domesticated, well, they would be endangered wolves instead. But this doesn't mean we shouldn't be so irresponsible in our stewardship of the species. Keep their populations down to reasonable levels, and make sure to take care of those we can't find homes for. Its the least we can do.