Trail mix for dogs?

Who knew.

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On one of my first days as a reporting intern at The News & Observer in the summer of 1981, I checked in on a Saturday morning with Ginny Carroll, the editor in charge of the metro desk that day. Carroll was scanning The N&O classifieds. She wasn't looking for golf clubs, a boat or a used car. She was looking for stories. She said there were good stories to be found in the classifieds.

Carroll, who worked for The N&O from 1973 to 1984, was right. I found one of them (actually my wife found it) recently when The N&O classifieds included a   small photo of a puppy in a wading pool. The ad started: "GOLDEN RETRIEVER. A VERY SPECIAL HOME HAS BEEN FOUND!!! THANK YOU TO ALL FOR THE OUTPOURING OF INTEREST IN DINKY!"

The ad was purchased by Rose Buckley of Raeford. I called Buckley and that interview became the foundation for my column Saturday on Dinky, a golden retriever who was injured during birth and has nerve damage to her left jaw.  Buckley had purchased an ad previously announcing the birth of a litter of golden retrievers born in June. Dinky was the last and smallest of the litter. Dinky has a new home in Johnston County, gets to play every day with four young children, and is healthy and happy.

Buckley told me her ads in The N&O were wildly successful. "The response was phenomenal," Buckley told me. "I credit the Raleigh News & Observer. It reaches a lot of people."

Here's to Dinky and here's to Ginny Carroll, who later reported for Newsweek and died way too young, in 2001, at age 53. She was an excellent reporter and  storyteller. Her coverage of the 1979 trial of Jeffrey MacDonald, the Green Beret doctor convicted of murdering his wife and two daughters, was exceptional. Carroll was tough but she also loved a story, like Dinky's, that warmed your heart.

And she was right -- there are good stories in the classifieds.

--John Drescher

See a photo gallery of German Shepherd-mix "Cassidy" walking with his new high-tech prothetic leg. Staff photos by Shawn Rocco.

N.Y. MTA K-9 Officer Nelson Hernandez on training canines for suspect apprehension. (Staff video by Shawn Rocco)

Some people might get the impression that the Town of Clayton is more concerned about water consumption than animals. Sound ridiculous?

New rules require owners of new landscaping to obtain a permit if they want to irrigate more often than current rules allow. For the first offense, Clayton will fine you $250. If you tether a dog, the town will fine you $50 the first time. In other words, it is a worse crime irrigate new landscaping without the proper permits than it is to let a dog be chained to a tree outside for possibly several hours.

I don’t think the town intended for people to view the new ordinances negatively. But, for animal lovers like myself, the low violation cost sends the wrong message. I’ve never been a fan of tethering dogs. If you can, install a fence or dog run or keep them enclosed. Owners can crate-train their dogs if they do not want their dog running loose. If you need to tether the dog to wash the car or mow the lawn, that is fine. But leaving a dog tethered all day is unacceptable.

Of course, residents should obey the rules for irrigating new landscaping. But if you irrigate new landscaping without the permit on a wrong day, you get slapped with fines up to $500. You will also face the threat of your water being shut off for 45 days. Fines don’t get that high for animal cruelty. But perhaps, it is time they should.