Editor:

We don't get over to our little house in Cutten as often as we'd like, so NCJ news gets to us slowly — through the mail. I suspect, however, that dogs are running loose up there even as we speak ("Unleashed," March 7), so maybe this little story is still relevant.

This is a true story.

I'm walking one day with a friend, and our walk takes us across the gigantic ranch where I grew up. She brings her golden retriever, Muffet. Needless to say, Muffet is the happiest, most innocent, most non-killingest dog ever. Though a dog lover and owner myself, I grew up on the ranch, where Rule 1 for a loose dog is "shoot to kill," so I'm not in favor of Muffet off her leash but hey — not my ranch, not my dog — I can't stop her. Picture Muffet bounding joyously. What kind of person would not be in favor of such joy, my friend's look clearly says. Muffet scampers out of sight over a low hill, but bounds back quickly with a whistle, panting and ecstatic. She was gone less than two minutes. Shortly we see a man walking toward us over the same low hill. As he gets nearer, we see he's holding something in his arms — a newborn lamb. A mangled, bloody, soon-to-be-dead newborn lamb, which he had just watched Muffet play with to death. Joyously.

I tell this story for people who say they're sure their dog has never killed anything. I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes but, as I say, this is a true story.

Thanks for helping us keep up with all the news while we're so far away — and NCJ does seem better than ever lately!

Susan Campbell and Paul Katz, Tucson, Ariz. and Cutten