Opinion Forum -- Ken Cannon Case:
From Barry 12/05/01: I happened to see the Dateline story about Ken Cannon. I thought it was sickening that someone would get away with such abuse to a dog. Everyone acted within the law except him. Yet, he is the only one who left the situation without a tongue-lashing.
From Randolph 9/16/02: I'm a neighbor of Cannon. The so-called animal control in our area is a very poor joke. From our home, one could WALK to the animal control headquarters in less than ten minutes.... yet, when called, they take a good 24 hours to respond- if they respond at all!
We are cat people. A few years ago, a neighbor died and left two beautiful and affectionate cats to fend for themselves. We could not bring them inside due to our present pets and the fact that they were mature outdoor kitties.
After installing a pet door on our enclosed porch, having the outside cats spayed and neutered, inoculated, and Advantage flea treated, they were healthy and happy. They never left our property. Early one morning my brother-in-law next door woke me to inform us that one of the cats had been mauled by a pack of loose dogs running around the neighborhood. I rushed the special kitty to the vet at 5:00 AM, and our excellent vet did everything he could...... "Fuzzy" died anyway, horribly, due to the loose dogs. The $460 vet bill was worth every dime for the vet's Sunday efforts, but does not make me feel any better. A few months later, the other cat was found, torn to pieces by dogs, in our back yard. I'm really mad about all this, but have no legal or official recourse. To this story, add a number of local human children mauled by dogs in the last few years- including one girl (not Cannon's daughter) a few doors away from our house!
Bottom line: There is no effective animal control in our community. And, irresponsible people are letting their dogs run loose to form packs, posing danger to our pets, children, and even adults.
Even though I love dogs (and they all love me), I have announced to the neighborhood that ANY dog I don't know that's bigger than 25 pounds or so seen on my property will be SHOT ON SIGHT! Even if the owner is present.
No questions asked. Period. If there is a problem, argue with the angry man with the smoking .45 automatic in his hand (me). I am not a redneck or "gun nut". Yet, one should be able to defend his or her own property and loved ones- humans and pets... And my property will be defended to the best of my ability. I'm a really good shot, too.
I commend Mr. Cannon for his patience. Cannon tried for a time, without success, to have the PROVEN dangerous dog in question removed from his (and my) neighborhood. The point of this longwinded message is to respectfully encourage you to not condemn a person like Ken Cannon. Unless you are close enough to understand the LOCAL circumstances, you are not in a position to legitimately put such a man down on the web. He deserves better than what you are doing.
There is more than one side to every story, and I learned long ago not to formulate a strong opinion with information from the questionable sources called the "news media".
From Rosanne 9/17/02:
You got to love it. These guys have other alternatives than to
take the law into their own hands. If the animal control officer is not
doing his job they can have him removed - the citizens hire the ACO's - the
selectman can fire them-I followed the Cannon trial - the dog he shot was tied
to a tree with a chain, was slated to go to be euthanized by its owner the next
day and this brave man walked up to the dog and shot it point blank in a residential
area in broad daylight - he is a police officer and the law does not allow you
to discharge a weapon unless you are in imminent danger. Cannon took the
law into his own hands - the case was dismissed only because the jury felt sorry
for his young daughter. She cried in court -"please don't take my daddy
away - please don't let him loose his job". Cannon is a hotheaded rogue
cop who thinks he is above the law - it is just a short hop up to harm a person
next - don't be surprised if you hear about Cannon getting in trouble for harming
a human next.
I agree that there are very irresponsible dog owners in this neighborhood but I don't agree that it is right to take matters into your own hands with the use of a gun or brutal force and that is the bottom line. Enough said!