Somewhat incredibly, this is the lead story on cnn.com this Thursday afternoon:
The shotgun blast rips into the stray dog’s midsection, sending it tumbling over and over. Agonizing yelps echo through the streets as it tries to reach and bite at the gaping wound. Minutes later, the dog is dead.
A few miles away, a puppy eats a piece of poisoned meat. Its body starts to twitch and spasm as the toxins kick in. It dies within 15 minutes.
The two strays were among the thousands that roam the streets of Baghdad. Authorities have been killing them since November, trying to prevent the spread of disease and attacks on residents.
The Baghdad dog-culling program comprises two vets, a council official and a police officer armed with a shotgun. The vets distribute bits of meat poisoned with strychnine. If the poison doesn’t kill the dogs, the police officer steps in with the shotgun.
“I do have mercy for all animals,” veterinarian Khalil Abdullah said. “But we can’t vaccinate the wild animals in the street, and we don’t have the means or ability to bring them all to the hospital.”
Does this really count as the most important story in the world right now? And if it does, how is it improved by the pulp novel prose? And if it somehow does benefit from this sort of trash, is this the best you can do?
The mongrel was blown apart like a Republican Guard tank hit by a Tomahawk missile fired from a U.S. submarine thousands of miles away. Khalil looked around for one last hit. Some little punk of a beagle-terrier cross cowered on the sidewalk. Khalil raised his piece. “It’s time to go walkies, big boy”, he snarled.
OK, I made that up. But it’s about the same quality of journalism, or maybe a bit better. Shame on you CNN. Even if you have a cute puppy photo:
