I respectfully disagree with Rhonda Garneau's letter regarding the photo of the dog found clinging to life in a diaper box near Kitimat.
Ms. Garneau classified the decision to put a picture of the dog on the front page of the newspaper as a thoughtless act that upset many people. I think putting the picture on the front page, thereby providing the public with a glimpse into the suffering this dog experienced, was not only far from a thoughtless act, but absolutely necessary.
Posting a picture of the dog on the front page served the purpose of upsetting people, which is what is needed. The public needs to be made aware of animal cruelty and to be upset by it.
The fact that in this day and age humans still continue to inflict such unnecessary pain and suffering upon defenseless animals is so horrifying that we need to be made aware of it and do anything we can to prevent it.
If posting a photo of the dog on the front page leads to someone being held accountable for causing it to suffer and be in pain, then posting a photo served a positive purpose. Whether people are upset by the photo or not is in inconsequential to the suffering I can only imagine this dog suffered for the days it was trapped inside a diaper box and possibly the years of suffering before that at the hands of its "human guardian."
Ms. Garneau also said the dog in the paper reminded her of a dog she recently had to euthanize and that bought her to tears. Posting the photo of the dog on the front page then also served another purpose, putting a face to an anonymous dog.
If published photos of abused domesticated animals start reminding us of our own furry family members, then news outlets are serving a positive purpose and hopefully leads to the public caring about their suffering and, more importantly, leads to perpetrators receiving the punishment they deserve.
Thank you to all the news outlets who ran a photo of this poor pup and for causing many of us to pause for a moment to think about his short life and hope he had some happy times amidst what I'm sure was countless others full of suffering.
Miranda Schmold
Prince George
