Letters to the Editor: On Annie the Dog

Tag your dogs

There is something amiss in the sad story of the lost 8-year-old dog, Annie, and her owner Chuck Hoage, the recent widower who raised her from a puppy.

In his radio interview with Dave Congalton, Hoage’s voice cracked with emotion in describing his attempts to find Annie. Hoage reported her missing and depended on a daily recorded message by the county describing each dog at the shelter. How excited he was to receive a call saying his dog was found. How dejected and depressed he was upon reaching the shelter to learn she had already been adopted out.

Since learning that San Luis Obispo County dog licensing and record keeping has been farmed out to Texas, it seems to me the department has far too little consistency, too little support and too little staff. Volunteers attempt to support the animals, but they certainly cannot and should not be expected to replace a trained, compassionate and consistent staff.

Wake up, dog owners, even on your own ranch, keep tags on your dog and have the animal secured in your vehicle. Get each pet licensed, vaccinated and microchipped. Let’s all be their voice in demanding proper resources for animals in San Luis Obispo County.

Ethel Landers

Nipomo

Reveal yourselves

As a person concerned about the fate of a dog misplaced and who abhors the cowardice of anonymity, I gladly accept your brickbat for me and all those who have been abused by anonymous callers, letter writers, commenters and now dog “owners” (“Outing Annie’s new owners would be wrong,” Aug. 20).

Let’s reunite Annie with Chuck Hoage. If the sad people that have Annie now don’t want to lose their anonymity, then they should return Annie to Hoage in a timely fashion.

Thank you for keeping us updated on this local human interest story.

I hope for a happy ending for a rancher and his best friend.

Steve Schumann

Arroyo Grande

A waste of time

I guess the news about the gravel truck that killed three people was less important than the story of Annie the dog (“Gravel truck falls on Santa Barbara home, killing 3,” Aug. 25).

You people need to get a life.

Three people in Santa Barbara lost their lives and you spend more time on a story about a dog.

Put the story of Annie to rest, and stop wasting time on this dog.

Bernice Casperson

San Luis Obispo