When my little terrier, Clem, was run over following me to school, I was brokenhearted. I had just lost one of my best friends. So when I heard about the recent pet food death cases, the old pain returned.
Dogs and cats have been dying of kidney failure after eating the pet foods produced by Menu Foods of Ontario, Canada. Later it was discovered that rat poison was found in the chow. In reaction to the illness and pet deaths, Menu Foods has recalled 60 million cans of pet food and had agreed to compensate the owners of pets that died after eating the contaminated products. Owners making a claim are required to mail their documentary proof to Menu Foods.
My friend Tony Tenderheart lost his pal Scruffy, a shaggy half Shetland sheep dog, half collie and half something else -- parentage uncertain. He didn't send a claim to Menu Foods, he just sent a letter expressing his grief. The company had to treat the letter as a claim, but because of the lack of detail and a demand figure, they called him to fill in the blanks.
"Hello Mr. Tenderheart, we need to get more information about your late dog, Scruffy. How much did you pay for him?"
"Nothing, he was a give away. There were seven in the litter and my neighbor gave me first pick."
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"How much did you spend training the dog?"
"I trained him myself. He was housetrained and he fetched my slippers. That was about it. I didn't train him to love me, he just kind of picked that up on his own. He loved the kids too."
"How much did you spend on veterinary expenses?"
"Just the shots every year. About $50 each time."
"How old was Scruffy?"
"Five years old. We had his birthday party just last month.'
"What did you spend on housing for the dog?"
"Nothing. Scruffy slept in the garage on an old rug."
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"How much did you spend on dog food?"
"Not much. Scruffy mostly ate scraps from our meals and a bit of Menu Foods for dessert. That was my mistake."
"What I'm trying to do, Mr. Tenderheart, is to determine the amount of your financial loss. Did you experience any expense at the time of his death?"
"Well, we buried him in a dog casket, but I made it myself out of some pine boards in the garage. No expense there."
"You leave me no choice, Mr. Tenderheart. You haven't given us a claim figure, and no serious account of expenses. We'll just have to look in our Dog Blue Book for the value of a mixed breed dog five years old and send you check for that amount."
"A Blue Book of dog values? What an outrage! Scruffy wasn't a used car, Scruffy was a living, breathing, loving member of our family. No book can put a value on man's best friend. What does your book say about three kids who can't stop crying? You know what my goal was? One day I hoped I would become as wonderful as Scruffy thought I was. I haven't put in a claim and I never would. Scruffy was priceless. You can take whatever number that Blue Book of yours tells you and send it to a dog shelter to care for some poor pup without a home. Then you should start all over in a job buying scrap metal and maybe you'll get lucky enough to get acquainted with a junkyard dog and pick up some sensitivity. And besides that, I want you to know that... I want you to know... I can't... I'm sorry I can't go on... I'm not..." (At this point all that could be heard were the sobs of Tony Tenderheart and the line went dead.)
And the moral of the story is this: "The one, absolute, unselfish friend that man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous, is his dog." (Senator George Graham in an argument to a jury.)
