Dear Editor:
I read with interest the recent well-written letter to the editor regarding bear bullying.
It’s been my good fortune to grow up with the Ozarks as my playground. I’ve lived in the Rockies, and now 10 years in Greenbrier County. Nowhere have I seen anything so pointless and brutal as allowing packs of dogs to run bears.
And they run. Any day of the year, more packs than ever, and with greater frequency. Our neighborhood might see three packs in one week, likely running the same bear. Three times in one week! That is bullying.
Actually, it’s an abuse. It is an abuse of the bear and the cubs that get separated and attacked. It is an abuse of the dogs who spend much of their lives on a chain or in a pen. I’ve had an old female dog with a half-grown pub collapse at my door with exhaustion after running the ridge all day in a foot of snow. And, it certainly is an abuse of my privacy, my patience and my peace of mind.
On one occasion, a dog owner crossed the deck in search of a dog. When I asked him what he was doing, I was “read” the law. I might add I live alone. I did not feel safe.
I want to know how many packs of dogs get run in Greenbrier County? With what frequency? Just how many bears are there? How often is a bear forced to flee for its life?
What do you call it? Sport? It’s anything BUT that.
Thank you,
Debbie Naeter
Friars Hill
