Editor, Daily Nexus,

I am not a PETA member, nor a member of any other animal rights group. I do, however, love animals, and I can’t help but feel anger and disgust over both the attack on I.V.’s albino raccoon and the jubilation felt over that raccoon’s death. I agree that most dogs are loveable, friendly creatures, and I’m sure Cody is no different, but the irresponsibility of his owners astounds me. To see the dog’s pictures on the Internet with captions touting the heroic ‘murderer’ for his recorded kills – four raccoons, two possums and at least one bird – shows his owners’ propensity for cruelty.

It is a privilege to have any kind of pet, and responsibility falls on that pet’s owners to keep it healthy, safe and in control at all times. Letting a dog loose on the streets at night puts that dog at risk for many diseases and in danger of being seriously hurt in an attack or being hit by a car.

And while the owners’ treatment of Cody is negligent, when they allow the dog to kill wildlife, they are breaking the law. No-Kill Now’s section on California law states “maliciously neglecting, harming, killing, or poisoning an animal can be charged as a felony and may carry a penalty of one year or more in state prison and/or a $20,000 fine” (www.nokillnow.com). Since Cody’s own well-being does not seem to influence his owners’ decisions, perhaps the threat of punishment will.

The belief that this was “a matter of life or death, nature at its purest,” as stated on the Facebook group’s wall, couldn’t be further from the truth. In reality, this was a domesticated dog being allowed to mangle and kill a wild creature that has to survive on its own. The raccoon was the only one of the two who actually faced death, because it was attacked and forced to fight for its existence. This isn’t nature; this is pure human irresponsibility.