CHECKING OUT THE "KENNEL TRASH"

It's highly unusual to see a Polk County story in the St. Petersburg Times, especially on the front page. The Times, to my knowledge, is not delivered or offered for sale at convenience stores across Polk County. The only out-of-area papers you'll usually see racks or spaces for in the stores here are the Tampa Tribune or Orlando Sentinel.

The reason I mention this is that there is a great piece in today's Times which highlights the people of Polk County Animal Control, which recently was incorporated into the Sheriff's Office, and how they deal with the often very emotional work they do in caring for --- and many times having to euthanase --- dogs they keep. In the case featured here, the dogs described were captured in a raid on a property in Mulberry several months ago where the owner was alleged to raising pit bulls as fighting dogs.

FYI: The "Kennel Trash" moniker was given the Animal Control officers from their street patrol collegues, and it's one they accept as a means of bonding the team.

This story is a truly moving piece of work, and should give many readers a completely different perspective of the people who work there. And while many people may be upset when they hear that many of these dogs cannot be adopted, it provides an excellent understanding as to why that is.

There are also several related stories in today's edition:

The Pit Bull Problem: A background view of the breed, as well as information about both sides of their reputation.

The Owner's Story: Hewitt Grant, who owned the 130+ dogs captured in the PCSO raid, is fighting the charges against him. Mr. Grant tells his story, which is told in first-person form edited from interviews conducted in his attorney's office, at his former Mulberry home, and by telephone.

How You Can Help: A listing of a few of the public and private animal shelters across the Tampa Bay area where you can adopt or help homeless and/or abused animals. They did miss one local shelter, though:

SPCA of Polk County
5850 Brannen Road, South
Lakeland, Florida 33813
Telephone: (863) 646-7722 (SPCA)
Shelter Hours of Operation:
Tuesday - Saturday 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM

In addition, Assistant Managing Editor/Newsfeatures Mike Wilson, who was the editor for this report, talks briefly about why this story was done as part of a multimedia piece on the Web site. It's just too bad that the vast majority of Polk Countians will not get to see this excellent special report unless they have online access.

And there is an online discussion of this story. Click here to join it.