Just desserts dished out by a prodigy shepherd mix:*
PENSACOLA, Fla. — A man who tried to shoot seven puppies was shot himself when one of the dogs put its paw on the revolver’s trigger.
Jerry Allen Bradford, 37, was being treated at a hospital for a gunshot wound to his wrist.
Bradford said he decided to shoot the 3-month-old shepherd-mix dogs in the head because he couldn’t find them a home, according to the sheriff’s office.On Monday, Bradford was holding two puppies — one in his arms and another in his left hand — when the dog in his hand wiggled and put its paw on the trigger of the .38-caliber revolver. The gun then discharged, the sheriff’s report said.
Deputies found three of the puppies in a shallow grave outside Bradford’s home, said sheriff’s Sgt. Ted Roy.
The other four appeared to be in good health and were taken by Escambia County Animal Control, which planned to make them available for adoption.
While it’s a pity the weapon didn’t discharge into the puppy murderer’s scrotum instead of his wrist, the pup is to be commended for saving its own life and that of some of its littermates. Shepherds are smart dogs. Here’s hoping the surviving pups find a worthy home.
Open thread!
* Apparently this is an OLD story (2004) that just came up on one of my newsfeeds as if it happened yesterday. Apologies for posting it as if it were fresh news!
JohnPM
Stories like this make me reconsider my opposition to the death penalty.
Feebog
Florida man, again. Too bad it was only the wrist.
SenyorDave
While it’s a pity the weapon didn’t discharge into the puppy murderer’s scrotum instead of his wrist
Well put, not sure if I wanted the guy dead (he might have kids), but not having any future reproduction on his part would greatly benefit society.
Paul in KY
Wishing best for surviving puppies.
schrodinger's cat
Human beings are the worst animals to inhabit the planet.
dedc79
Finally, a Stand Your Ground defense I can get behind.
Mark B.
The right to arm puppies is in the Constitution! Maybe it’s ‘leg’ hmmmmm…
Chris
@Mark B.:
Well, the right to arm bears already is, why not puppies.
Percysowner
@Paul in KY:
Nothing gets dogs adopted quicker than hitting the news in a good way, especially when they are cute puppies.. Animal Control will be swamped with people wanting to adopt and will try to get them interested in all the other dogs that need adopting.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@dedc79:
I suspect we all can, even if the pup was not a crack shot (creepy Florida man survived).
Since it’s an old story (2004), I hope SYG puppy has enjoyed a good life. It would be great if somebody in/around Pensacola could find an update.
Mark B.
Any chance this guy could share a jail cell with Michael Vick sometime in the future?
ET
I am always a bit flummoxed as to why he didn’t take them to a shelter. They don’t throw you in jail and would MUCH rather you surrender them than KILL them. People are stupid.
gex
I don’t know how someone can do that. It hurts me just to know this is a thing people can do. Ditto that for all the ways we manage to be cruel to each other.
Maybe it’s worse because I’m having a hard time right now. But my heart hurts thinking about those dead pups.
@ET: His tale may not be entirely true. He probably wanted to shoot them more than he really believed he had no other options.
WereBear
He “couldn’t find them a good home.”
Yeah. Right. Got off light, but I will settle for local notoriety and no one ever buying him a beer again.
Elizabelle
Couldn’t bring up a picture (yet), but the animal shelter is calling the super smart puppy “Trigger.”
Ryan
I suppose we need to arm all the puppies now too…
Elizabelle
Wait a minute. Is this story from 2004?
WereBear
In light of the subject of this post, I would like to recommend the book I’m currently reading, True Summit by David Roberts. It explores the true events behind the first ascent of Annapurna.
Let’s just say it’s a case of instant karma, perhaps.
Last day of vacation, so I’ve got to edit a podcast and maybe write another blog post and get back to it.
FourTen
@WereBear:
The gun was the only pet he really wanted, the puppies were just the excuse he finally needed to play with it.
Betty Cracker
@Elizabelle: Well, shoot! It came up in a newsfeed I follow today — thought it had just happened!
Paul in KY
@Percysowner: That will be good. Hope some of the other dog/cats there also get adopted out.
Edit: Way, way back in 2004 ;-)
Gin & Tonic
@Elizabelle: Old news is good news.
tanman
The only thing that can stop a bad dog owner with a gun, is a good dog with a gun.
benw
@Paul in KY: I’m just going to imagine that somewhere in the world are four 11 yo shepherd mixes happily curled up at the foot of a comfy bed.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Betty Cracker:
For shame! “Just deserts.”
WereBear
“Couldn’t find good homes” translates to “sell them for money.”
Steeplejack (phone)
@Steeplejack (phone):
Just Desserts would be a great name for a pastry shop, etc.
Elizabelle
Proud of Senate Dems for doing this: NY Times: Senate Democrats to Unveil Climate Change Bill
Smart politics and timing. Joe Manchin and Heidi Heitkamp are not on board (no surprise, given their states’ reliance on fossil fuels), but most Democrats are.
NYTimes says Cantwell plan lacks a carbon tax, which is politically unpalatable to politicians from the Midwest, Democratic and GOP, whose region depends on manufacturing and fossil fuels. Obama’s Cap and Trade policy was DOA, with midwest Democrats joining the GOP to defeat it.
So, still a lot of work to come, but a good way to motivate Democrats on a serious issue, and point out GOP intransigence on a topic of great interest to many Americans, a lot of them young.
Elizabelle
@Betty Cracker: So easy for that to happen. I’d googled the guy’s name, and started seeing odd dates on stories about him. Got to get offline, but we should be able to find out what eventually happened to the guy and the surviving puppies (who are well into senior status by now).
Steeplejack (phone)
@Steeplejack (phone):
And Google brings up a ton of them.
FYWP.
Gimlet
Via Atrios
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/politics/texas/article/Bush-reboot-of-land-office-has-campaign-family-6515179.php
AUSTIN – Less than a year after being elected to lead the oldest state agency in Texas, Land Commissioner George P. Bush has dramatically remade the General Land Office by ousting a majority of its longtime leaders and replacing many of them with people with ties to his campaign and family.
Bush has given top jobs to two of his law school classmates, two relatives of members of two Bush presidential administrations and at least three others with ties to the family or other political leaders.
In all, Bush has hired at least 29 people who worked on his campaign or have political connections, according to a review of thousands of pages of personnel records. The agency did not advertise any of the openings publicly.
the agency had been making record profits from its mineral lease sales and outperforming other agencies with its investments while increasingly being trusted with new responsibilities, such as the management of the Alamo.
“You don’t lead by making change for the sake of change,” Patterson said. “You don’t lead by creating an atmosphere with all of the employees are hunkered down, waiting to be fired. You don’t lead by demanding loyalty oaths. You don’t lead with weekly purges.”
msdc
Florida Man stories never get old.
The question is not whether Florida Man was shot by an animal yesterday; the question is only whether it got picked up by the papers.
WereBear
You know who else administrated that way!
benw
@Steeplejack (phone): How about Eats Shoots and Leaves for the name of a salad/veggie joint?
@Elizabelle: Thanks for the link. Good on the D senators, and IMO good politics, too. It forces the Republicans to react with more climate change denialism/conspiracy nonsense.
Germy Shoemangler
@Elizabelle: A group of house republicans led by Rep. Chris Gibson call for action on climate change:
https://www.nationaljournal.com/s/72340/house-republicans-plan-call-action-climate-change
They admit global warming is real and man-made.
Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Carlos Curbelo of Florida, Robert Dold of Illinois, Dave Reichert of Washington, Pat Meehan, Ryan Costello, and Mike Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, and Richard Hanna and Elise Stefanik of New York all confirmed to National Journal that they have signed on as cosponsors of the resolution.
Gimlet
And the Volkswagen CEO can be seen strapping on that yuuge golden parachute as we speak.
A scandal that has undermined Volkswagen in the United States spread to its core market of Europe on Tuesday, after the company said that 11 million of its diesel cars worldwide were equipped with software that was used to cheat on emissions tests.
Betty Cracker
@Steeplejack (phone): I realize this will be wildly controversial, but I say that popular usage trumps etymology in this case, and therefore I stand by my original spelling. I know the counterarguments, so further attempted pedantry will fall on deef ears.
PurpleGirl
Somewhat OT: I’d like some input from the wise BJ hive mind.
A kitten was attacked and hurt by a group of 5 men a few days ago in northeastern CT. I know of it because the kitten was one a group brought up from Alabama by the rescuer I know. The kitten is being cared for by a specialist vet right now. The 5 men are known and have been arrested and will be charged. My question: Would it be a mistake if I wrote to the State’s Attorney to voice my opinion on what should be done to the miscreants? I think they should be made to pay the vet and hospital bills and perhaps have punitive damages assessed. The men are claiming they were drunk and thought the kitten was a skunk (!!!???) and were scared of it. (So they attacked it????!!! WTF!)
WereBear
@Betty Cracker: I’m with you; “desserts” has become so widely accepted, and so erroneously understood, that it’s now the “right” one. :)
Betty Cracker
@PurpleGirl: I don’t think there’s anything wrong with writing to the SA to give them your opinion — as long as you remember to keep it civil. (This kind of incident makes me so angry I usually refrain from expressing my opinion of what should be done to the miscreants to actual public officials. Good public servants happily won’t take my advice to drag the offenders through broken glass, dip them acid, roll them in pig shit and fire them from a cannon into a toxic waste dump!) The question is what their options are for penalties.
MomSense
@PurpleGirl:
No, they did not think it was a skunk. They didn’t want skunk spray all over them.
Psychopaths.
PurpleGirl
@PurpleGirl: Alternatively, someone at the rescuer’s FB page suggested a civil suit by the kitten’s parents against the 5 men for damages.
Betty Cracker
@WereBear: I’m usually the last person to bow to popular opinion on language questions — “literally” will mean what it means as far as I’m concerned even if every other person on earth uses it as a generic amplifier rather than adverb with a specific meaning. But IMO, “just desserts” is a special case since the “correct” spelling causes people to mispronounce it.
Paul in KY
@benw: Me too!
Paul in KY
@Betty Cracker: I like the rolling in pig shit part. Nice touch!
Brachiator
@schrodinger’s cat:
“Man is the Only Animal that blushes. Or needs to.”
— Mark Twain
PurpleGirl
I’m going to research CT law this afternoon for the prescribed penalties. The incident has the Kitten Kastle’s community pretty upset. We keep track of most of the adopted kittens the best we can. This kitten was one of dozens we saved from a kill-shelter in Alabama, so it seems even more horrible that it was attacked.
ruemara
@PurpleGirl: Do it and share the method of having others do so. These guys deserve to suffer high consequences.
Brachiator
@Betty Cracker:
But the incorrect spelling makes the phrase meaningless, and invokes a food image.
Here I think folks should just accept the idea that the way the written word does not always match the expectations of contemporary speech.
This kinda reminds me of a similar error in reverse. I continually see “mute point” instead of “moot point.” I think it’s because people hear the word but rarely come across it when reading. One day, “mute” will become the standard spelling, unless it’s just replaced by an emoji.
Quaker in a Basement
When something really, really stupid happens in Florida, Pensacola is always a safe bet.
Betty Cracker
@Brachiator: I don’t think the food image detracts from the meaning of the phrase at all but rather adds to it, if anything. I bet if you query 100 random people off the street and ask them the meaning of the phrase, 99 would understand that it means getting what you deserve, but they would have no clue that “desert” descends from a French word that conveys that idea. In fact, I’m willing to bet that in our hypothetical experiment, most people would invoke the food image themselves and link the justice of the “desserts” to the quality of the meal that preceded it.
“Mute” point is a different kettle of fish altogether, IMO. Unlike “desert” as used by purists in the phrase in question, there shouldn’t be any homophonic confusion between the words “moot” and “mute,” which also have perfectly clear and different definitions in English. It’s possible that someday people will consider “mute” the correct adjective, but there’s no real justification for it other than adopting a widely made mistake.
boatboy_srq
[ahem] Just deserts are what one gets for being whatever-it-is one is; Just Desserts is an excellent bakery in San Francisco.
/pedant
boatboy_srq
@Elizabelle: How deliciously apropos.
cckids
@PurpleGirl: I am late to this because life & West Coast, but I’ll add my voice to the people saying “write the letter”. We have a friend on the county commission here, and he continually says the impact of letters is huge, especially when they are not an obvious campaign. Let your outrage fly a bit as well; depending on the makeup of the group you’re writing to, some people have a “meh, animals” attitude.
rikyrah
Go Puppy!!
Steeplejack
@Betty Cracker, @WereBear:
I hope that someday you both are hoist on your own petards.