Relax -- it's just a job!

I've written before about how my dog is my baby. Some people just don't seem to get that. In San Marcos, Texas, last week, a couple was rushing their little dog to an emergency vet. The dog was choking to death. And they were speeding -- I would have been, too.

They were stopped. Instead of Officer Paul Stephens using some common sense and helping them get the dog on to the veterinarian and then giving them a ticket if he wanted to, he insisted on giving them a ticket right then. When the distraught couple protested, he callously shouted, "Relax, it's just a dog! You can buy another one!" Of course, the twenty-minute delay was too much, and the dog died.

Instead of being fired, the Officer has received an "oral reprimand." This is ridiculous! If I were the police chief, I would have called him in and said, "Relax, it's just a job! You can find another one!"

"Police officer receives death threats." The Dallas Morning News; August 23, 2008; p. 3A.