Humanity extends to our four-legged friends

The article, “Police rule out shelter negligence in dog theft,” on

Nov. 6, contains misleading information. Here is a different version

of the event:

“Security” is an inappropriate word to use regarding the actions

of those at the Orange County Humane Society in regard to the stolen

dog. I would not leave a $1,200 dog in a fenced yard overnight unless

I intended for someone to take it.

Marines don’t leave their secret documents unguarded or unlocked.

Security, in the proper sense of the word here, is either guarded or

locked. There were no guards and no locks. There were no provisions

for security to speak of when the puppy was stolen. There was no

negligence because it was standard operating procedure to have no

security.

According to the article the Last Chance for Animals organization

states, “even a fenced yard and locked gate are no guarantees that

your dog will not be stolen.” The proper application of security here

is merely a matter of applying common sense. The humane treatment for

a puppy would be to: have tags made for the dog; report to the police

the dog missing; pay out-of-pocket for a lock or, seek one of the

plenty of good humane people out there, who would be happy to lend or

contribute to pay for a lock or other types of security.

None of these humane things were done by the “owner” or anyone

else, that we know about, other than, my wife, Tracey Dorame. A Costa

Mesa city ordinance states that a stray animal has to be reported to

the police and says nothing about reporting it to Animal Control. The

puppy was reported to the Costa Mesa Police. Dorame was coerced into

relinquishing the dog to Animal Control upon the threat of being

charged with grand theft. The puppy did not necessarily have to be

surrendered to the Animal Control in the first place. The puppy was

deemed healthy and had shots from a Costa Mesa veterinarian before

being impounded at the Humane Society. Dorame also had every

intention of returning the dog to the rightful owner. Every lost

puppy and their owner should be so lucky as to have Dorame to take

care of them. There are plenty of officers collecting dogs, yet not

enough to investigate stolen ones. And the shelters should be trying

to find loving families for animals not to take animals away from

loving families.

Go down and check out this “no kill” shelter. Is it really all

that humane? The humane choice would be to allow the puppy a better

environment with Dorame. The puppy went from a warm, loving home to a

cold thief’s hands.

The Last Chance For Animals also states that finding a stolen pet

is hard work. It is endless and heartbreaking. There is not much

support for those with stolen pets, unfortunately. Friends and family

will want you to give up, adopt another dog, get on with your life.

There are few people who truly understand the endless questions and

worries and fears that you will have. Is your dog safe? Is it alive?

Is it being abused? Is it warm and being fed properly? Is it being

used for research? The questions and the worry haunt you endlessly.

The Costa Mesa City Attorney is presently investigating ownership

of the Orange County Humane Society. Whether the puppy belonged to

the Humane Society, the City of Costa Mesa, or whomever, remains to

be seen. Dorame was denied the fair opportunity to adopt a stray

puppy, just as any other citizen of Costa Mesa would.

The children of Costa Mesa High School are saddened to hear that

the puppy was stolen. Unfortunately, even the most responsible pet

owners lose their animals. There is no guarantee that they have the

opportunity to reclaim their pets if there is the opportunity for it

to be stolen from a shelter. Children especially, are psychologically

impacted during a time of crisis and lose hope when public officials

are unsupportive of their grief. As American citizens, we should be

obligated to have a concern to avoid the demoralization of our

children and our society.

I urge you to be concerned and examine the policies and procedures

of the animal shelters on behalf of our cities, our citizens, our

children and our impounded pets.

JON DORAME

Costa Mesa