Letters to the editor for Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2013

Slow down and save the lives of our deer

We are fortunate to have the most amazing deer herd in the west side of Carson. The herd begins each day from the Ash Canyon/Ormsby area. We have watched the herd for years, and it seems to be flourishing, strong and healthy. We have gotten so much enjoyment watching the new fawns become yearlings and then watch them become parents. I am fairly certain this same herd travels each day throughout the west side. They are often seen around the Governor’s Mansion area. We recently counted a group of six large bucks in the front yard of a home on Ash Canyon.

Unfortunately, a fawn was recently hit and killed on Ash Canyon. The speed limit in this area is 35 mph, but we normally slow down to between 20-25 mph at the top of Winnie Lane, around Ormsby and east on Ash Canyon. I cannot count the number of times we have encountered the herd crossing the street directly in front of our car as they move from one favorite resting or grazing spot to the next. It is so much easier to slow down and have the ability to stop quickly if the deer are crossing than to carry the heartache of injuring or killing one of Carson’s pleasures.

If you are in this area, please take an extra minute or two to slow down. You will enjoy a wonderful experience and help to keep them safe.

Pamela Ross

Carson City

Rollie was partly taxpayers’ property

I am stunned to learn that Carson City Animal Services is a kill shelter. After reading the heartbreaking plight of Jeraldine Archuleta and her little Shih Tzu Rollie, I am also angry beyond words.

I have several unanswered questions I can’t seem to find a logical answer to. Was the shelter completely full of animals that had been there a shorter duration than the Shih Tzu? I think not. Was the dog deemed aggressive or unadoptable? Had he bitten someone? Was he rabid? Again, I think not. Did the Carson City Animal Services kill the innocent Shih Tzu out of spite? I suspect they did!

Correct me if I am mistaken, but the shelter is funded primarily through city taxes — taxes that I pay. Therefore, that dog was also partly my property.

Halting adoptions temporarily for “extensive training and ethics review” is like closing the barn door after the cows got out. You can’t teach compassion or morals. Saying, “Oops, we made a mistake,” isn’t going to cut it. An innocent animal was killed. I suggest a full change of staff and management.

Carson City Animal Services no longer has my support. I will not give another leash, another towel, not another dime to support the inhumane treatment of animals.

Jenny Haas

Carson City