Stupid, Dumb, and Ignorant...

From Jim: Was thinking about our animal control officers this morning. They have a really difficult job. They're asked to enforce the laws which pertain to the animals people keep. People come in a lot of flavors. Some that law enforcement personnel see often are 1-stupid, 2-dumb, and 3-ignorant. The first two are generally the most troublesome. Stupid folks willfully do the wrong things and won't try to fix it. Dumb people don't have the mental capacity to do better and can't learn how to fix it. Ignorant people, ah yes, ignorant people just don't know any better. If they're just plain ignorant, not stupid or dumb and ignorant, then there's hope! They can be enlightened and taught and made to be OK. When I was a cop, I was always delighted when I found an ignorant person that could be helped. Seems like lots of folks that own animals are of the stupid, or dumb, or ignorant classifications. And why not? There's just a whole big bunch of stupid, dumb, and ignorant people. Then, of course, you have to layer on the good/evil index. Think of the permutations!: Evil-stupid; Good-dumb; Ignorant-evil; Stupid-good, and so on... So back to AC officers. They get to sort through the maze of ill-doers that have animals and try to take care of the critters, use an intervention that will work, and enforce the law. They also get to deal with strays, wild critters that are a health risk-i.e. rabies, predation of domestic stock, and disputes between folks over animals that are pesky or disorderly. They also keep the license thing straight for pets. People get weird and emotional when it comes to their pets.(maybe even more so than with kids) The dynamics that emerge in family disputes certainly exist and may even be more amplified. Fido or Flicca or Fluffy is not only "property", it's family, by golly! Just because they're starved, abused, beaten, sick, frozen, fill-in-the-blank, doesn't mean Joe petowner or Jane, his significant other, won't fight to the death to protect them from the jackbooted thugs that look out for animals' welfare. The "you can't tell me what to do with my own pet" anthem can be heard playing in the background! If Joe and/or Jane are of the evil-stupid-my property/family school of human behavior, a good time is sure to be had by all. Next time you see "the Dogcatcher" give them some well earned praise. These are really hardworking, good folks who have a very difficult job. Our Butte County AC officers are among the best I've ever seen.