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Of pet parents and soda fountains

© Beth Skinner

The city of Boulder recently passed a resolution that pet moms and dads will no longer be referred to as pet "owners" but pet guardians Their hope is that when people begin to call themselves g - u - a - r - d - i - a - n - s instead of owners they will realize that pets are "people" too and should be treated accordingly. Of course most of these brilliant people scoff at the idea of placing the Ten Commandments in a school on the basis that this would not deter bad behavior because simply reading or saying something doesn't make it so...oops never mind.

But do I support animal rights? Absolutely. A letter in the Pets.com magazine recently talked about how the author's neighbor abused and neglected their pet and they were told legally there was little they could do. I personally think the OWNERS of this pet ought to be chained outside to a fence and left to lie in the 95-degree heat without water or food. Do I think for one second though that someone who would abuse their pet will suddenly change because the city says they're a guardian and not an owner? Not in my lifetime.

People who treat their animals well to begin with will continue to treat them well whether or not the city declares them "guardian" and people who treat their animals poorly - well may they develop some horrible skin disease which causes all their hair to fall out and people to shun them openly. Or better yet, why doesn't the government actually do something productive and prosecute people who mistreat animals? Now there is a novel idea!

Wait! The government protection doesn't end there! An 11 year old Longmont girl watched her Italian soda stand get shut down by the Boulder County government because the potato chips, ice and Italian sodas she served could very well be riddled with disease - unless of course she obtains some sort of government permission (i.e. expensive license) to run her small - make that very small business.

Her dad built her a cart that included a tap for carbonated water. Her mom made a canopy for the cart and a matching apron. She made as much as $50 in one day selling key lime and a variety of other flavored sodas along with potato chips - if the soda buyer happens to be hungry.

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