I just read the piece in the newspaper titled, “Couple charged with cruelty for abuse and neglect of dog.”

They were charged with a misdemeanor which is punishable by fines and up to 364 days in jail. I’m very interested to know how that’s going to turn out. Most likely, they have no money for fines, and how much time will they get? Not much, I’ll bet. I was hoping for a happy ending when I read this, but no … the dog had to be euthanized because of so much abuse and neglect.

How can people treat innocent animals so horrendously? Too much for me to comprehend.

Let me tell you a story about an ol’ boy named Max, a boxer/shepherd mix. He was in a high kill shelter down in Georgia. He didn’t know how to walk on a leash, so the animal control officer beat him. It was caught on film and the guy lost his job and did some jail time. Then Max was left in a crate in a room full of crates and no one missed him. Someone happened to go in there and he happened to make a noise. He was saved by a rescue group and was fostered. At his first foster, he did not walk, he only pushed himself along the floor until he found a bed to crawl under. Judy sang to him to get him to relax with her.

There is so much more to Max’s story, but his nickname was Max the Miracle and that’s true in more ways than one: He made it out of Georgia alive, and right now he’s on my couch safe and warm and he runs with his tail in the air with his dog brother and sisters. A happy ending.

Deborah Phair

Augusta