News-Record.com

How many of you read the book Old Yeller when you were kids? smart-alecky slacker Bill Murray asked fellow boot campers in the Army comedy "Stripes."

And how many of you cried when Old Yeller died?

Sheepishly, most of the soldiers in traiing raise their hands.

I could have been one of them.

I'm still struggling to convince my significant other to see the new movie "Marley and Me."

Ever since I was a kid I was a sucker for dog books and dog movies and, of course, real dogs.

Even some of the ones that chase me on my morning jogs.

By my count, one neighborhood dog has chased me more than a hundred times over the past three years.

I have threatened both owners with contacting Animal Control, but they obviously don't believe me. And so far they've been right.

The irony is, they have a fenced-in back yard, but still see a reason to let the dog (a very big one) roam the streets in the mornings.

Then there is this teeny-weeny, white-furred pug that chases me with a squeaky bark that sounds more comical than hostile.

I laughed out loud when the pup came scampering after me the other day, growling with great ferocity ... and wearing a striped sweater.

In neither case have I been bitten.

But there are leash laws in Greensboro and people routinely ignore them. The problem isn't bad dogs ... it's bad dog owners.

The issue surfaced recently in Wake County, where a 40-pound boxer may be put to death for repeated instances of biting people.

The dog's name is Honey but its disposition isn't always so sweet.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reports that Honey may be put down for biting two people and knocking another down, causing him to break his wrist.

The first victim hurt himself in August when the dog lurched at him and he tried to get away.

The second was bitten, also, in August, and successfully sued the owners.

The third was a jogger who was knocked over in December and bitten on the arms and legs.

The family that owns Honey cites not knowing about one of the incidents and not being notified by the county that Honey had been officially classified by the county as dangerous.

That's a lame excuse.

Frankly, it's not Honey's fault that these incidents occurred. The family that owns the dog has been careless and irresponsible.

One incident ought to be enough to convince a dog owner of a dog's potential to do harm, much less three.

Does Honey deserve to die? That's a toughie.

Does she deserve better owners? Absolutely.