Pound Dog Spurned by President Obama Killed

[DisassociatedDave]

WASHINGTON (Disassociated Press) April 15, 2009 – Skippy, the one year old hypo-allergenic dog of mixed breed, that was slated to have been the nation's "First Dog," after its adoption by the President and the First Family, was unceremoniously put down this morning in an indistinct District of Columbia shelter...

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Disassociated Press: Pound Dog Spurned by President Obama Killed

[RedGlitter]

And why didn't someone else step up and adopt Skippy rather than killing him?
It's got nothing to do with being a liberal. Rush Limbaugh is a moron and that quote doesn't serve the issue well.
It has everything to do with Kennedy butting in. What could Obama do? Refuse the gift of a dog? That would have been wrong on all levels. The fact appears to be that "Bo" is somewhat of a rescued dog. He may be purebred but his first owners cashed him in and a dirty secret is that a lot of breeders have their returned dogs killed ("put down") particularly those of poor temperament (which is often caused by overbreeding) because they are not profitable. Irrespective of all the blather breeders (even those who term themselves "responsible breeders") spout about love of the breed at the end of the day it's about the money. Sure, Bo's breeder may have a return policy but that doesn't guarantee a life for the dog. So in this respect, Obama and Kennedy did a good thing. I will not begrudge Bo a home at the White House for I want all dogs in a good home.

On the flip side, yes, it sucks that Skippy "had" to die because he was slighted by Ted and Barrack. Skippy represents every pound puppy who dies because of human greed and ignorance. But I truly believe if effort had been made, if the public had known about Skippy BEFORE he was killed, he would have been saved. All Skippy needed was a little publicity as "the one Obama didn't choose" and somebody would have scooped him up. Apparently nobody felt like marketing Skippy. So I blame the shelter for that. Why didn't they contact Hannity and get Skippy on prime time? If Hannity was willing to feature news of dead Skippy on his show, would he not have been willing to have live Skippy on the show?
Finally, blame the person who landed Skippy in that pound. Perhaps the person died and left Skippy behind. That's why pet owners need a contingency plan in case that happens. Perhaps Skippy got out of the yard. So have a better fence. Maybe a mailman left the gate open. So know where your dog is at all times. Maybe Skippy chewed up a shoe and his owner dumped him at the pound because they didn't like the dog as much as they liked their shoes.

The way I see it, Skippy had more than one killer.