Justice for Bear-Bear

I hate for my very first Husky blog post in over two years to be one so sad and tragic, but it is imperative to get the word out there so that something will be done.

For those of you who are not already familiar with Bear-Bear's story, go to the following website for all the news: http://justiceforbearbear.wordpress.com/

In short, Bear-Bear was a beautiful, 3 year-old Siberian who belonged to Ryan and Rachel Rettaliata, was a regular at the community dog park, and was shot and killed by an off-duty federal officer who claims that the dog was attacking his dog and that he feared for himself, his dog, and his wife. I call Husky crap on his story.

First -- This "officer" was walking his dog on leash in an off-leash dog park. Any idiot should know better.

Secondly -- He says his wife was holding the leash and it sounds like she freaked out when her dog pulled her forward. If she could not control herself or the dog, why did she have the leash? She went into panic-mode, and that is never good for a dog owner.

Third -- Huskies are not an aggressive breed. In fact, a recent Ivy League study shows that they are the LEAST AGGRESSIVE breed. http://publicintellectual.wordpress.com/2010/03/17/ivy-league-study-huskies-safest-breed/

They cannot even be trained to be watch dogs because they are so friendly. They do like to play rough, however. I don't know how many times I will look to see my Huskies playing, and they will have each other pinned down, will be pulling on each others' fur, and will be getting mouthy with each other.

Fourth -- Even if the dogs were getting too rough, there are ways to break up fights, rough play, etc. without using lethal force. Most people I know carry water bottles with them when they walk their dogs or take them to a dog park. A blast of water is usually pretty good incentive to get dogs to break apart from each other.

Finally, Gandhi once said "The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated." How Bear-Bear and the Rettaliatas receive justice in this case will say a lot.