Help Wanted:

Our badger friend Susan Kirks of Petaluma’s PLAN wrote last night alerting me to a truly depressing bit of animal husbandry. Seems there was some unidentified growling coming out from under a parked vehicle in Forestville so an animal control officer came out and shot it. Chris Smith for Press Democrat

BADGERED, BOTH: No one felt good about what happened after a houseguest in Forestville heard wild noises the other night and peeked beneath a parked ca

You can imagine the sensations that coursed through him as he spied a growling badger. His hostess, Arrow Olesky, figured the animal posed a threat to people, pets or both and dialed 911. A county animal-control officer drove out to Olesky’s place. And shot the badger. Olesky feels terrible but figures she did the only thing she could do.

The only thing she could do? Really? How about the garden hose? How about that tried and true method called “walking away and coming back in ten minutes?”. Well, this pie of blame has at least two pieces and the smallest one goes to the Olesky’s. I assume when they heard animal control was coming out they thought something intelligent would be done – some bit of fur-bearer management that would save their pets and keep the wildlife lovers happy. I don’t suppose they thought animal control would drive out all that way at night to stick a rifle under the car and shoot it.

If you want to express your outrage for some bad stewardship and worse decision making, you can write the Press Democrat and the director of Animal Control Amy Cooper. I did.

It’s not as if Badgers don’t have a hard enough life anyway. Check out these unexpected photos from a kayaker in the Klamath via a friend of Brock Dolman.

This one is in Lafayette. The traveling beaver show will be on the road this morning teaching and making tails. The particular classroom helped the students make life-sized lodges last week so I can’t wait to see them.They had originally wanted a field trip to see the dams, but since our beaver dams are mosquito sized we decided this would work better.

There will be light posting this morning as duty calls, but you might enjoy two particularly compelling justifications for Mark Johnson, the animal control officer who took it upon himself to shoot beavers in Princeton New Jersey. The first is a comment, (I assume by his mother), who callers herself ‘Robotti”.

” I’ve always found Mark Johnson to be professional and competent in all my dealings with him, and I frankly can’t understand all the outrage by people when no one has heard his side of the story yet. He’s been doing a great job for us for 18 years, and deserves the benefit of the doubt. All of you anonymous commenters – how about posting some names so we can evaluate your comments in context? It’s easy to bash somebody on the Internet when you don’t have to be held accountable for your words. Anne Robotti, Princeton resident “

Yes it is sneaky how people can post under an assumed name, Robotti. (Does irony mean nothing to these people?) Don’t worry. My letter to the editor was set with my very own name. HEIDI PERRYMAN. Look me up and we can talk.

The second comes from this article about the sharp shooter being back on the job. Apparently Mr. Dog Catcher is getting a bit of flack. The paper approached him for a comment and he sagely replied

”I’ve been told not to discuss it,” he said. “I would love to clear my name.” ”It is what it is,”

It is what it is. There’s a man who sees the writing on the wall and repeats its phrasing handily. Honestly have you ever heard anyone use that particular line and thought to yourself, “I have such respect for their resolve! What courage in the face of adversity” ? I find it is the mobious-strip-refuge of little minds who want to pretend they are not responsible for their actions or the consequences that they incurred, but maybe that’s just me.