After reading the article in the Star on Nov. 30 about a stray dog who bit four people, I am totally disgusted and outraged! Sure, there are a lot of stray animals running around this campus, but did you ever notice that this is always happening around winter and summer breaks? Does anyone ever ask why this happens? I’ll tell you why! When some students at NIU get an apartment, they also decide to get cute and cuddly pets to go with them. Everything is fine until that day we’ve all been waiting for finally arrives—graduation.

So what happens to the animals? I’ll give you a clue. Most of the time they don’t end up going home with their owners because mom and dad don’t want another pet. So what happens? The animals are abandoned by the poor excuses for human beings who owned them.

Contrary to popular belief, domestic dogs are quite different from wild dogs who hunt and kill other animals to survive. The point here is that if you think you’re doing your pet a favor by setting it free at the end of your college career and that it will survive, you are probably wrong.

Yes, there are cases where some animals will survive, but most are either hit by cars or killed by other animals. Those that don’t fall into either of these categories are usually picked up, put into an animal shelter and exterminated later.

Did you know that it is sometimes only three days before an animal in a shelter is put to sleep? This is due to overcrowding in some animal shelters. Now why do you suppose some of these animal shelters are so crowded? Could it be due to some of the more brainless and insensitive students on this campus? And you have the nerve to say that you’re in college!

As for the dog in the story, maybe some of you had seen it—along with a black labrador retriever—running around loose. Well, you’ll be unhappy to know that it and all of its puppies were put to sleep this last weekend. Who knows what happened to the three girls who owned it and abandoned it?

As for the owners of the black lab, it belongs to a fraternity here. I won’t mention names, but they know who they are. I have heard, however, that the owners and dog are now doing better.

The whole point of this is that some of us need to grow up and take responsibility. Does this word sound familiar? In other words, if you are going to get a pet, make sure you will be able to keep it or find it a home once you graduate!!!

For those of you who this story applies to, who have abandoned animals, just remember as you’re going up there to get your diploma that you have in essence killed your pet by “setting it free!” We all say that a dog is man’s best friend, but with friends like some of you humans, who needs enemies?!

Karen Young

senior

computer science