You Sometimes Reach a Point

I ran into this story while out and about on the Internets. I think somebody has over reacted.

We can start with whether or not this guy should have taken his dog mountain climbing with him, then move into not being properly prepared to be on the mountain. 

The guy's story rings true with me. I can see who he would have made every decision he says he did, based on the situation he says he was facing. I can also see why he would cough up the bucks for the vet's bills after dog was rescued.

But then, I am a dog lover, and hated losing each of my dogs when they died. It would have been a hard decision for me  to leave a treasured companion on the mountain like he did.

So why the animal cruelty charges? Was what he did cruel to the dog? Absolutely. But it wasn't intentional.

Unless somebody believes he should have stayed on the mountain and risked his life and his companions because of the dog?

As I said, I'm a dog lover., But after all, he is an animal. There has to come a point where you weigh the value of the two lives involved, and determine that the human life is more valuable.

Treating this guy like a criminal is just adding insult to injury. Animals should be protected from abuse. And pets see too much abuse in this country as it is.

But treating this guy as a criminal abuser cheapens the real abuse.

And the picture is a couple of my dogs. The light colored one is my wife's long-haired chihuahua Bandit. He left us late last spring, and is up on the hill next to Junior. The dark one is Daisy, the Young'uns dog. And yeah; I took the picture.