WS Chronicle

Supervise your dog around the water like you would a child

To the Editor:

Security camera footage of a dog named Remus jumping into a pool to save his canine friend, Smokey, from drowning recently went viral – reminding viewers that while dogs are smart, brave, and selfless, they’re not always strong swimmers.

Always supervise your dog constantly around the water, just as you would a child. Test your dog’s swimming ability by letting her gradually wade into shallow water, while on a leash and harness and within your reach. Never force or throw a dog into the water – it’s traumatic and dangerous.

Some dogs jump into pools, but then can’t get out. Provide stairs or a ramp and teach your dog to use them to exit (hold a “refresher course” at the start of each summer).

Let dogs swim in lakes and oceans only when there are no strong waves or currents. Make sure the water is warm enough – enthusiastic dogs may plunge into frigid water, putting them in danger of hypothermia.

On boating trips, ensure that your dog wears a properly fitted canine life jacket. If your pup falls overboard, immediately turn around to retrieve her, pointing at her constantly so you don’t lose her position in the waves.

After swimming, wash off your dog – pool chemicals and saltwater can irritate dogs’ skin and sicken them if they ingest them. And for all summer adventures, ensure that dogs have constant access to fresh drinking water and shade.

Lindsay Pollard-Post
The PETA Foundation
Norfolk, Virginia

Passage of budget is a new low for North Carolina

To the Editor:

A new low has certainly been reached in North Carolina with the passage of this budget. The question now is how much lower will North Carolina’s legislative leadership take our state.

All along, legislative leaders have maintained their commitment to lowering income tax rates to zero. They are getting closer, and our communities and families are hurting as a result.

Now, because they don’t want to deal with the realities of just how damaging their commitment to “low taxes above all else” is, they want to set a new low standard for the legislative process.
They ignored the voices of everyday North Carolinians, of those who teach our children, the needs of our youngest children and oldest residents, and the evidence of what works to grow the economy and connect communities to opportunity.

They raided federal money intended to extend the reach of programming to young children, and they cut off rural counties with high poverty from tools to revitalize. They failed to put state dollars toward health care as needed, and they earmarked millions for special interests rather than invest in services for all. They missed the chance to make genuine progress on investing in each child’s education. This new low is a missed opportunity for our state, made worse by the fact that they kept in place $900 million in new tax cuts that will begin in January 2019 and force more bad choices in the future.

Legislative leaders are willing to lock in their bad ideas no matter the consequences. They could even pursue radical proposals to put their budget ideas into the state Constitution.

Let’s be clear: The consequences are real, life-changing for our neighbors, and damaging to a state that should be seeking the high ground to prosperity.

Alexandra Sirota, Director
Budget & Tax Center
Raleigh