Howard L. Ritter Jr.: Duct tape on dog hardly a prosecutable offense

Regarding the Dec. 2 news article “PETA asks DA to confiscate woman’s dogs”: With growing astonishment I read about the Kafka-esque persecution, prosecution and bullying of the Florida woman who posted a Facebook photo of her dog with duct tape around its muzzle.

It took efforts of law enforcement agencies in three states to locate the woman, visiting in Cary, and to cite her for animal cruelty. This was even after animal-control officers had examined the dog and found no evidence of abuse or neglect and despite the woman’s statement that she left the tape in place “only for a minute” as discipline for barking.

This is hardly a prosecutable offense, and the photo isn’t evidence of anything except that the tape was in place long enough for a photo. And yet incensed activists, law enforcement and the DA react in attack-dog fashion.

A PETA spokesperson said the act was, “bullying at its worst, and people are outraged about it,” called for the owner to be stripped of her rights to keep her dogs and demanded she be required to attend anger-management classes.

What should outrage people is that our tax money and law-enforcement resources have been wasted on an unprosecutable nonoffense for which there is no evidence.

This story was originally published December 9, 2015 at 5:55 PM with the headline "Howard L. Ritter Jr.: Duct tape on dog hardly a prosecutable offense."