Two dogs in our court were put down these past two days. One was old and in a lot of pain. One was young and ignored, with nothing else wrong with it.

The latter dog, who had been outside on a chain practically since the day she arrived, was a beautiful little puppy. She couldn't have been much over a year old. But she was outside on that chain in all kinds of weather. Her owners had been cited, so I am told, and in any case it was clear they didn't really have time to take care of her.

So they took her to the pound.

And had her euthanized.

Our next-door neighbor--the one who had the other dog, the one who was sick--actually found a new home for the puppy. It was too late.

I've been hoping that there's another side to this story, because the concept of having a dog killed just because you can't take care of it is repugnant to me. Take it to the pound, sure, even if it would get killed after seven days. But they just... put her down. So no one else could own her.

Our dog has torn up every piece of furniture we own, eaten entire boxes of cereal left on the counter, vomited on my feet. Our cat has been in and out of the vet since we got her. This poor puppy couldn't have been any more trying to take care of.

I just hope, as I said, there's another side to the story.