Sep 2, 2014 2 min read

Man’s inhumanity to man can get people angry, but a man being inhumane to his pets can really stir up some fury.

After we reported last week on the case of William Wilkinson, a Spraggs resident who was accused of dragging two golden retrievers behind his vehicle in July, readers left comments on this newspaper’s website advocating eye-for-an-eye justice. While we wouldn’t go that far, we’ll confess to some disappointment that charges against Wilkinson were reduced last week so that the 59-year-old veteran could continue to have a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

Wilkinson was instead charged with two third-degree misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct and a summary animal cruelty charge. Rather than being barred from pet ownership for life, he was instead ordered to not own a dog for two years and say goodbye to the golden retrievers, who suffered severe cuts in the incident. One reportedly needed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Wilkinson claims he was not being deliberately cruel to the dogs, but that they had wandered away from his yard and he was merely trying to get them back home. Moreover, Wilkinson said he was driving only about 2 mph.

If that was indeed the case, it represents a bizarre lapse in judgment.

In the future, we hope Wilkinson will confine his pet ownership to something more on the gerbil or iguana level.