EVERYTHING'S UNDER CONTROL

This morning as I was taking Maggie to school, we pulled up to a stoplight next to one of the Macon County Animal Control vans. Maggie sat there studying it for a moment, then asked what an Animal Control van did. I told her the people who worked for animal control helped by taking care of the animals that were loose - - I gave her the example that if someone lost their dog, Animal Control might pick it up and help it find its owner. I also explained that if an animal was threatening or could hurt someone, they would help take care of that too.

She asked what would happen to an animal that was being mean. I told her that they would pick it up and try to see if it had an owner, but a lot of times, they end up having to kill those kind of animals so they won’t hurt anyone. She then asked, “How do they kill them?” I told her that it doesn’t hurt them - - they just give them some medicine that makes them go to sleep and then they never wake up, so they die. I told her that it’s very peaceful. Maggie pondered this for a moment and said, “Kind of like Grandma Lillian, right?! Except they didn’t pick her up in the van first.”

I had to stifle a laugh as I said, “well, not exactly like that, Mag.”