Happy Tails by Joy Underhill
Joy and Vern Underhill of Farmington, NY have suffered some fallout after an address mix up during last weeks animal cruelty arrest.
Scott Gears was charged with 11 counts of animal cruelty on Tuesday, August 25, 2009 after nine dogs were found living in deplorable conditions and two others were found dead on the property at 2630 Daansen Road.
Gears, who hadn't resided on the property in months due to financial difficulties was staying with a friend at 6145 Doe Haven Drive. The problem for the Underhill's began when Gears apparently gave the police their house number, 6154 Doe Haven as the address he was currently staying at.
First they received a pamphlet on animal cruelty and then a letter from a lawyer.The letter contained a newspaper article about the animal cruelty arrest and an offer to take the case. As they read the article they soon realized why they had been getting the unusual mail. They saw that their address had been given to the police by Gears and was included in the news release about Scott Gears arrest.
The Macedon police quickly corrected the mistake upon being contacted by the Underhill's.
The Underhill's have a black lab named Magic and Joy is a freelance writer and author of Happy Tails a book about why dogs do what they do.
Vern Underhill told WHEC:
I just want to make sure people understood that at our address we're kind to our dog and we weren't involved with this incident in Macedon last week.
Emotions run high when it comes to animal cruelty. With all the social media and forums available today, opinions and comments are made in the heat of the moment and can spread around the world in a few hours. A reader from Atlanta, GA wrote a comment in response to an article about the address mix up:
How in the world did they find the animals if they had the wrong address? I think the police department has some explaining to do. Those poor people whose address was published incorrectly should sue the pants off of someone. Now, every crazy and their brother will be bothering them.
This reader does not have all the facts or they would know the suspect was not residing where the dogs were discovered and that address had nothing to do with the address mix up. On the other hand, this particular article did not include the actual address the animals were found. The omission of that information confused the facts for this reader.
Let this serve as an example for everyone to be very sure that what they hear on TV or read in print or online is accurate before making hasty comments, sending mail out or sharing incorrect information.
Comments
Very interesting. Isn't funny how people always want to believe the worst before being proven guilty.
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!