Letters to the Editor 7-3-14

American Legion
Editor: I’d like to tell you a little about the Sotoyome Unit 111 of the  American Legion Auxiliary. Nationally, the American Legion Auxiliary has over 800,000 members and is the world’s largest women’s patriotic service organization, yet many people have no idea who we are or what we do. And we do a lot!
The American Legion Family includes Post, Unit, Sons and Riders. Local groups meet at the Villa Annex in Healdsburg, where installation of officers for the July – July year was recently held. Our Unit 111 works year-round making poppy wreaths for graves at three local cemeteries. Our Past Presidents canasta group pay dues, that contribute to a yearly nursing scholarship. We sponsor three high school juniors (from Windsor, Healdsburg and Geyserville) to go to Girls State, where they can learn how government works by running for office, holding elections and passing laws, but having fun doing it. At July Fourth fireworks we help the Post by selling flags, homemade cookies, glow-in-the-dark headbands and drinks.
We send donations to Yountville Veterans Home for their Spring Fling Party, and at our Christmas party, profit from a big raffle goes to Pathway House at Yountville, a place for combat veterans to stay while combating mental or physical problems.
The American Legion originated right after World War I ended and the Auxiliary began a year later. So we’ll soon be celebrating 100 years of service and there will be lots of special events.
We always welcome new members (you have to be related to a military member or veteran), especially younger women who are interested in carrying on our good work. For more info, call me at 838-4035.
Bettie Crandall
Windsor
Leash your dog
Editor: I’m writing about what seems to be a recent epidemic in our public space around north county. In recent weeks, I have come across dozens of off-leash dogs in areas that require pets to be leashed, particularly the Healdsburg Open Space Ridge and Foothill Regional Park. I have a dog that is well-behaved generally, but sometimes dog-aggressive, especially with particular breeds. I am able to control him and I keep him on leash at all times. However, a few days ago he was accosted by a massive off-leash pit bull. I stood between him and the dog and managed to keep them apart until the owner got the dog away (to my shock, the adult woman sent a young female, no more than 9 years old, to come grab the dog away from mine). When I pointed out that there was a leash law at the ridge and asked why the dog wasn’t on a leash, the owner cavalierly replied “She comes when I call her,” obviously an egregious lie, as she had been calling the dog from the moment it saw us and took off towards us, until the girl pulled the dog away (about a minute in all). The situation could have been much worse and I shudder to think what could have happened. I believe pit bulls are responsible for 25 of 26 dog bite fatalities in the U.S. and cannot be trusted with any animals or small children, no matter how well they’ve been raised. They were genetically bred for the specific purpose of fighting, and no responsible pit bull owner should ever allow their dog off-leash in a public area, ever. The data on this is very easy to find for anyone who takes just a few minutes to investigate. While it can be argued that other breeds are also bred to kill, pits are unusual in their strength, jaw force, and willfulness, especially once they have started to attack. Most dogs bite as a way to establish dominance, pit bulls bite to kill. Most pit bull fatalities come from dogs that, according to their owners “never showed aggression” before the fatal attack.
I’m upset that I can no longer walk my dog safely at these local trails. I do now carry pepper spray and have the phone numbers of local PDs and Animal Control on speed dial in the case of a future incident, but I want to ask our law enforcement to be diligent about citing off-leash dogs, especially those breeds particularly known for aggression. It only takes one time before it’s too late.
Cynthia Boaz
Healdsburg, CA