Dignity in death for Zeus.

Maybe it's nothing. But I am freaking out a little bit over a news story in my local paper. And it's not because of the story itself (although I do have some issues with it), but rather, it's because of the photo that accompanied the story.

Now I am not in the news business, and I know nothing about editing and journalism, so I am going to need one of you experts in this area to tell me when we started covering up pictures of dead animals like we do people. Seriously, if the dog in this picture was not covered, would the folks over at the Philadelphia Inquirer even consider running the picture?

Look, I know we really love our pets here in A-merry-ca, I have blogged about it before. And, unfortunately, some of you really believe that I don't like animals, when nothing could be farther from the truth. It's just that I have seen too many dead dogs -and cats- lying on the side of -and in the middle of the road to be freaked out if I see the picture of a dead dog in a newspaper. Does that make me heartless or less caring about our four legged friends? I think not.

Honestly,I can't remember if I have ever seen a dead domestic animal's pic in a news paper or news magazine. Is that something editors sit around and talk about?

"Bob we have a really good shot of the poor dog after the officer shot it." "Is he covered?" "No, he isn't." "Well we can't run it."

I love animals, I really do. And when Fido checks out I am sure that the last thing that poor Fido's owner wants to suffer is the indignity of seeing him dead and uncovered like some human in the street. That just seems so....well, Third World. Now that I think about it (and speaking of Third World) I think that they covered up the dead people in Haiti, too. Oh wait, maybe not. But I digress.

Still, animals, like people, can sometimes snap. And unfortunately, like people, this is why they can sometimes end up dead in the street.

"They all said he was a nice dog.
But something inside Zeus snapped yesterday morning.
The American bulldog who loved dog biscuits and backscratches went berserk and attacked an 11-year-old neighbor as the boy and his friend got ready for school in Port Richmond.
Thirteen-year-old Brad Bucher heard his brother Shane screaming and sprinted to help. The scene outside his home on Mercer Street near Tioga seemed straight out of a horror movie: Shane struggled frantically on the sidewalk, Zeus' teeth sunk into his bloodied neck.
"I was trying to push him off, to unlock his jaw. But he was just attacking him," Brad said four hours after the 8 a.m. mauling. "I didn't know what to do. I was panicking and in shock."
Neighbor Bill Reynolds had heard the horror unfolding outside too. Reynolds, 46, grabbed his .357 Magnum, bolted toward the boy and dog and aimed carefully, blasting Zeus twice until its grip on Shane loosened. Brad flew off to call 9-1-1 and his dad..."

R.I.P. Zeus. Sorry you had to go out like that. Still, your soul can take solace in the fact that the Inquirer treated your lifeless body with the dignity and respect that it deserves. [Article]