Better to direct anger at neglectful owners

Postcards of Wanganui are out there.

Having gassed unwanted dogs for some years, Wanganui District Council now finds itself in the firing line - villified for a method deemed acceptable by Massey University vets and the SPCA.

It is, of course, a battle the council cannot win. When emotion swamps logic the way it has this past week - as more than 10,000 signatures fill a petition to outlaw the practice - maybe it's time to cut your losses.

As a dog lover, I can relate to that emotion. I don't mind admitting I blubbed when my four-legged friend reached the end of the road - lethal injection and very peacefully in my arms, god bless him.

The fact that the dogs at the pound are on death row anyway. That there is no hard evidence of suffering when they are gassed count for little in the face of the public pounding the council is taking.

Perhaps best to switch to the favoured injection method and let Wanganui's outraged animal activists carry the extra cost.

And maybe that outrage can be diverted from the council to the real villains - those who let their dogs run loose, don't care for them properly and, more importantly, don't have them neutered.

Put all that angry energy behind a call for greater resources for animal control and for prosecutions for animal cruelty.

There are too many stray and unwanted dogs and cats, and council staff are really only cleaning up someone else's mess.

Remember, prevention is better than cure - especially when the cure is the gas chamber.

Thanks for postcards
For once, I am happy to admit I got it wrong. The apparent dearth of Wanganui postcards - which I railed against in this column last Saturday - isn't as dearth-like as I thought.

My lightning survey of Victoria Avenue did not reveal any nuggets (apart from Great New Zealand Gifts) but I had not cast the net wide enough and will accept a gentle upbraiding.

The Whanganui Regional Museum has a fine selection, while the i-SITE (now why didn't I think of that) was decent enough to send me a collection of excellent cards.

Ask and you will receive ... I also got some sent by Ian and Yvonne Jones at Maxilab, now down the very bottom of Victoria Ave.

So many thanks - both for your kindness and for putting me right.

There is no excuse for not sending the message about Wanganui's wonders far and wide.