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Written by GR Staff
Saturday, 09 February 2008
Dear Sir, This past Wednesday I witnessed an unbelievable act of cruelty on the streets of Chapala and I could not let it pass without saying something. The fact that stray or loose dogs in the Lakeside area are a problem, as they tend to wander in traffic with no regard for their own safety, is beyond the control of most of us. But the fact remains that people need to pay attention while driving and look out for them, and at least try and make the strays as safe as possible. At about 11:10 a.m. I was circling the block while my wife made an appointment for our dog to be groomed. As I rounded the corner from Morelos onto Juarez, behind a small grey SUV with South Dakota license plates, I saw the driver run over a small black and white dog. To be fair, I don't think he intended to hit the animal, but once he did he then proceeded to drive forward over the dog with the back wheels of his car before he got out to see what it was he had hit. The man then looked at the dog saw that it was not moving and proceeded to move the animal to the curb with the toe of his shoe, before getting back into his car and driving away. I am not sure if that dog was dead or not at that point but the callousness of the driver made me want to throw up. I have seen a lot of horrible things in my life having been a police officer in the United States for many years and having served in the U.S. military during two wars. But in all my experience I have never seen such a cold and heartless act as the one I observed on Wednesday. That driver showed absolutely no regard whatsoever for that poor suffering animal and it made me sick to my stomach to watch. I don't know for sure if that man was a foreign resident or a local, it really doesn't matter. But I hope with all my heart that he reads this letter and that what I have said here causes him to have many sleepless nights. J. M. Jensen, Chapala