One stray dog apparently will find a happy ending, thanks to the kindness of many strangers.
Chocolate, an abandoned and badly injured Chesapeake Bay retriever, was rescued by a well-meaning soul who didn't know one important fact: Stray animals found outside the city limits have no place to go.
So the Pasco woman was stuck with a crippled dog and no resources to pay for the medical attention the animal desperately needed.
He had wandered fields and farms north of Pasco on two broken legs for months, inseparable from his favorite yellow squishy toy.
An article about the dog's plight ran on the Herald's front page Tuesday. Animal lovers responded, as we knew they would, with offers of cash, veterinary care, homes, collars and the like.
One of the best vet schools in the nation -- Washington State University's Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Pullman -- agreed to try to repair the damage to Chocolate's front legs.
The operations started Friday. We're awaiting the outcome.
Like everyone else, we're rooting for this stray pup. May he live happily ever after with his chew toy and a home that's fit for a king.
But there's a bigger issue beyond the fate of the quite charming Chocolate. It is the plethora of stray animals that either run away or are abandoned in unincorporated parts of Benton and Franklin counties.
The animals aren't creating the problem. Irresponsible pet owners, including those who fail to have their animals spayed or neutered, are at fault.
The fact that the counties don't provide animal control services just adds to the dilemma.
Most folks who find a stray dog would think they could take it to the Benton-Franklin Humane Society.
They would be wrong. The no-kill facility only accepts animals that are surrendered by their owners. How they prove that, we're not sure.
But in any case, that doesn't seem like a very "humane" practice.
The nonprofit agency turned Chocolate away. The reasoning is that a stray animal's health history is unknown and could put other animals in the shelter at risk.
It seems that a quarantine area could be made to solve that problem. Or a slush fund created to provide care for a wayward animal that can't be housed at the shelter.
Tri-City Animal Control only has contracts to pick up or take in animals from inside city limits.
Other critters are out of luck. Just as the well-meaning rescuer of Chocolate soon learned, there is nowhere for stray animals found outside urban boundaries to find shelter.
That needs to change. As our communities spread and people build homes in the county, stray animals will become an even bigger issue.
As it is now, anyone who thinks leaving an unwanted dog on the outskirts of town is giving it a fighting chance is wrong.
It's a death sentence and far too common in rural Eastern Washington. Chocolate's reprieve is as unusual.
Know the responsibilities of pet ownership and commit to them before taking on a four-legged friend.
Remember that those cute little puppies grow up. Or that cat may spray some stinky stuff on your good furniture.
Breeds are important too. Research will tell you that a livestock herding dog doesn't fare well cooped up in an apartment.
Or that a pit bull might turn out to be more of a problem than a fashion accessory once it weighs 100 pounds.
Circumstances sometimes can overwhelm an otherwise sound citizen. When times get tough, a pet might get evicted from its former home through no fault of its own.
Pet owners are responsible for finding a good home for such animals, but many fail to live up to their responsibility and leave their pets to starve.
It's a strange political fact that it's better when these acts of cruelty occur inside city limits. Then the animals have a chance of getting picked up.
The public needs to push the counties to provide animal control. The cities ought to apply pressure too.
More humane solutions could be found by the Humane Society.
And pet owners, especially, need to care for their animals.
Until then, far too many animals will find themselves in Chocolate's predicament with no hope of rescue.
Even if we knew all their sad stories, they'd never fit on the front page.
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