Ms. Barnett said that the cat

wore a collar with tags, including her name, home telephone number and

work number. She also called animal control and left a detailed message

describing her cat. No one ever bothered to contact her to inform her

that her cat was indeed in the shelter, and was going to be destroyed,

even though they had received her message, and had the information on

the tags. This is intolerable.

It was obvious that this cat

belonged to a caring family. I am dismayed that the county has a "kill

first and ask questions later" policy. How much time would it have

taken for someone at the shelter to simply return a phone call, or look

at the tags on the cat and make a call to the owner? Destroying this cat

was insensitive and unnecessary. This family's present anguish could have

been avoided if someone had only taken a moment to make that phone call.

When papers recount tales of

animal torture, I am always outraged by how little value some people place

on life. Where does such callousness begin? It begins in our homes, with

our children watching our own actions. It begins when we have no tolerance

for our neighbors and their pets. It begins when we refuse to take a moment

out of our day to make a phone call that would save an animal's life.

Children model the behavior

they see. What are we teaching them about the value of life when we carelessly

and needlessly snuff it out like Ms. Barnett's cat?

Glenda Lohmann

Peachtree City