I love dogs--I *really* love them.

I'm not happy that the dog had to be put down, for the dog's sake. Now that the dog is put down, the owners have little incentive to learn better. Plus, they're probably thinking "that's that" and they have nothing else to worry about.

(I really love dogs. I had to put one of my dogs down 6 weeks ago, okay?) But I don't think the loss of this dog is that much of a tragedy. Someone else could have loved and cared for that dog better than those owners. But maybe this situation will teach those owners that they can't properly keep a dog? Maybe they'll get off scot-free without having to pay any monetary damages and they'll put it behind them. Maybe they'll get the message that they're not good enough dog owners. Or, maybe they'll still want a dog and because of this situation they will spend some time learning how to properly care for it? I just don't think this dog died in vain.

And for the record, I don't believe Batbike was celebrating that the dog was put down, but just that some small increment towards justice was done in her case. I wouldn't come down so hard on her for being happy about that.

Karen