TO say that being a police officer is a frus- trating endeavour is an understatement. Being at the sharp end of a Jegal system that continually seems to fail in its essential duty to protect the citizens of our fair country makes the frustration inevitable. But sometimes the job can be rewarding, not just for a big arrest, or the successful conclusion of a lengthy and complicated investigation, but for the little things Let's take a look at some- thing that happened in early January on the west side of Vancouver. In the words of Snoopy, “It was a dark and stormy night.” Really. - _VPD officers were called toa a typical “youths annoy- ing” complaint on the "grounds of Van Horne ele- mentary. The youths in ques- tion had departed, » Spically, - before the police could arrive and give them a stern finger .. wagging. Which is just about the most they can do in this day and age. But I digress: In the course of looking around for the ne’er-do-weils, one of the officers came across.a very wet, very'scared and very pregnant German shepherd. The dog was shak- -ing like'a leaf and appeared to ‘be frightened of the officer. : er finally getting near enough: to the soon-to-be ..mum, the officer was able to _ see that she was well-fed, had a collar but no tags, and had a - well-kept coat. In other words, she appeared to have wandered from her owner : mailbox e needs happy end punishment and wasn’t a stray. Consequently, he called the pound and had her taken to more suitable environs while they tried to find an owner. Now this might have been the end of the story had the dog’s master been more con- cerned and humane. But, apparently, that individual didn’t care a whit and they soon came to the realization that no owner would be call- ing for the dog. In mest cases this would have spelled the demise of the dog, a fine looxing shepherd in the prime of her life. But not these days in Vancouver. The pound, you see, has a “no destruction” policy and secks alternative solutions to euthanizing the dogs. Théy placed the dog with a family in Langley who promised to foster it and the soon to be born pups until ‘suitable homes could be found for all. On Jan. 22. the dog, by now named “Emma” by her foster mum, gave birth to six pups — four males and two females. All are bright, chip- per, healthy and, by all accounts, cute as a bug’s ear. Emma then began the instinctive process of nurtur- ing her off-spring. A couple of weeks later, a poster with pictures showed up at Vancouver Police Headquarters at 2120 Cambie, looking for homes for Emma and the pups. The police officer who found Emma, a grizzled vet- eran of more than 25 years of policing the mean streets, kept in touch with the foster family. To date, all but ovo of the pups have been adopted and Emma has recovered well from her ordeal. Ironicatly, in the same week that the Vancouver Police found Emma, they had to deal with another dog inci- dent in the same part of the city that did not have such a happy ending. “Cassius,” a mature pit bull terrier, somehow man- aged to get free and bit a small child in the head, caus- ing some very frightening injuries. Cassius was restrained and brought to the same pound. But because of his aggressive nature, the police sought an order to have him destroyed. The owner of the dog finally agreed not to oppose the destruction order and Cassius was put down. Now I should say that Cassius was not, by nature, a vicious dog. Somehow being chained up all the time by a testosterone-laden owner led to the aggressive behaviour. As the owner of a beauti- ful, well-trained, even tem- pered shepherd myself, it’s ard to conceive how anyone ‘could turn their back on a dog like Emma or perma- nently chain up a dog like Risks fewer if you obey the rules Twas saddened to hear that people, , young adults, died. on. the North Shore mountains this year. cy 1 was even’ mere saddened to see that the parents of these were so. quick to blame :. Cypress: Bowl , management.: I would: like to say. that I have spent 4 great deal of time skiing up there and I am always n notic~ 15em pot} - go. there. The TAPANESE AZALEAS : ""FLOV > e : s . wo ing how much rope there is. In order to go out of bounds you MUST, inconve- niently, duck under a rope to people of Vancouver are (or should be) aware of the dangers of going under these 10) these , but I must say that “there. i FLOWERING HANGING BASKETS (25cm Cedar Baskel) $29.97 Tam sorry fo Ort the parents of, “absolutely nothing — - more the mountain can-do (or should have to do). Mountains, in general, are dangerous laces. This is what draws peopic to them. There is little to no risk if one skiis ur fides in bounds; to go under the ropes is placing your fife in your own hands, not anybody else’s. ~ Erik Jensen West Vancouver ejensen@cjman.com ne Cassius. Containing is onz thing, but chaining, in that manner, is abuse. Fortunately for Emma, she was found by a caring police oiticer who went well beyond the call of duty to help a beautiful dog in distress. Equally fortunate for her, the Vancouver pound has decided to find humane alternative methods of dealing with ani- mals coming, to their care. The fostering program and those who volunteer are to be commended. As for Emma, the police officer who found her would love to keep her, but he already has a jealous roteweil- er. Hf anyone reading this would like to provide a home for a pretty terrific, well-tem- pered German shepherd or one of the two remaining pups, please ¢-mail me and Pl put you in touch with the foster family. Some stories do need a happy ending after all. —tknight@direct.ca HARBOURSIDE North Vancouver's Waterfront Business ~ Park Wednesday, April 5, 2000 ~ North Shore News — 7 Oil, Lube & Filter i 21 pt Safety check. 15 munutes - FAST! includes up to 5 Itres of 1Ow 3G Quakerstate i 1362 Marine Drive 980-9715 Mon-Sat 8:00arn-6:00pm, Sun. 9:00arn-5:00pm Expres Apri 12/2000 j ‘1. aD ee Oe ee ee ee ee et Oe oy LAURSEN & SON draperies & blinds itd. Serving the Lower Mainland for over 28 years www.sidrapesandblinds.com Custom Rods, Upholstery & Bedspreads {Ask about our Seniors Discount} For Free Estimate call 922-4975 or 987-2966 Drapery Labour $24.95 per pand fined. 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