Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Man vs. Beast

So, I got this Email today and it pretty much broke my heart...


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Big Ben is a 4½-year-old 10 pound miniature Daschund and has always been a loving member of our family. He is a very sweet, loving, and playful dog. We are looking for a family or couple to take him in.

We have a 10-month-old baby that doesn’t understand not to take Ben’s treats. Ben is not an aggressive dog towards anyone who can understand that his treats are HIS TREATS! He nipped at our son and we don’t want to worry that our son will hurt Ben or upset him again. I tell you this honestly because we want to find a home for Ben that is just right for him. He is good with anyone over 4 that can be told not to take his treats-he is even used to a cat!

He has tons of energy, LOVES taking walks, and spends most of his days sleeping. His only requirement is that he gets plenty of love and attention and can sleep under the covers with you-he is a snuggler!

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Aside from being heartwrenching, does this seem fair to anyone else?

I for one am appalled by this decision. Granted, I'm much more of a "pro-dog" person than a "pro-baby" person. Honestly, when co-workers have babies and bring in their pictures, I'm like "Yep, that's a baby - looks like all babies, pretty much." When co-workers bring in pictures of their puppies, I'm like "Can I steal that?"

Think about it? Aren't dogs better than people in almost every way? They're loyal, soft, fun, enjoy being lazy, and find joy in the most simple things in life. Who could ask for anything more? Do you think it's a coincidence that you see way more people die in movies than you do dogs? Nope, America wouldn't like that. We love dogs.

What if you had a five year old child, then had a newborn baby - the five year old child accidentally hits the baby and you give the child away? That doesn't seem right. Wasn't Ben there first? Shouldn't he get the benefit of the doubt? Isn't there some "right of emminent domain" being infringed upon here? Squatters rights? Something?

If someone wants to take Ben vs. Ohio Board of Babies to court, I'd gladly stand outside holding protest signs. It's not like it would be the first time (see: Sully vs. Blend Express in 2003 and Brian vs. Channel 12 Interruping TV for "Tornado Warnings" in 2001).

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2 comments:

amanda said...

I couldn't agree with you more. THE DOG SHOULD STAY!! I'll set up the Chicago affiliate of this protest.

p.s. I'll take him if they need me to. I want a pet and he is too cute.

Brian said...

Sadly, (or I guess happily?) Ben has already found a new home.

The good news is that it's with a crazy dog lady who lets her two other dogs sleep with her and takes them on vacation with her.

The bad news is that his new home is pretty far away from his old home (East Side vs. West Side of Cincinnati - you basically need a visa to travel from one to the other).

What I found very heartening is the number of people who passed word of Ben's plight along to everyone they knew. People were posting flyers, mass Emailing friends, etc.

Good job humanity - I like you again!