Eh dog catcher: That dog you got at the grocery store parking lot and took to the pound was a service dog. The way you acted was so disgusting that I can’t believe they hire people like you. You came across a man with a disability and you showed him no respect. I know, someone from the store called you, saying that a dog was barking and was tied up to a shopping cart railing and had no water. I’d get upset about that, too, but you did nothing to find out what was really going on. The dog’s owner was disabled, and had owned that dog for years. I know for a fact that on the morning in question the dog had a big breakfast and plenty of water to drink. He was barking because he got tangled up, but his owner was coming right back, as he always does. You didn’t want to hear any of that. And when the owner finally did get back, and he tried to talk to you, you said you didn’t care. Well, here’s something that I care about: the dog’s name was Smitty, and his owner misses him every day.
Illustration by Ron Pitts