Subject: Dead geese found floating in lake (http://msnbc.com/local/KING/320055.asp)
Date: Jul 16 21:19:38 1999
From: Dennis K Rockwell - denniskrockwell at juno.com


Tweeters:

On Fri, 16 Jul 1999 18:49:42 -0700 "G&T Pelletier" <greg at halcyon.com>
writes:
>According to this news story, someone killed about 20 geese in Lake
Tapps:
>
>http://msnbc.com/local/KING/320055.asp
>
>This is the report from MSNBC:
>
>"PEOPLE LIVING at the south end of this Western Washington lake found
about 20 dead geese floating on the lake >Thursday. Wildlife officials
believe someone poisoned the birds and neighbors were very concerned.
We got two >children that swim every day out here by the docks. We got
dead geese foaming at the mouth. My dog jumped in >this morning and now
he's being treated by the vet," said one resident. Investigators think
someone may want to >kill the birds because of the mess they leave
behind."

OK, now I could be wrong, but I think that, just maybe, the dog owner in
this story is having an hysterical overreaction.
If I'm reading this correcting, this dog owner is suggesting that the
geese were killed and something ? happened to his dog because the water
in the lake was deliberately poisoned. Improbable, IMHO. I don't doubt
that someone may have poisoned those geese, but it's far more likely that
if that is how they were dispatched, it was done by adding the poison to
something which they ate. This is just another example of the
deteriorating condition of the news gathering industry. The reporter
involved could have got the straight stuff from the "wildlife officals",
but instead probably chose to go with a quote from someone who didn't
know what they were talking about because it made for a more inflammatory
story (dead geese, hospitalized dog, swimming children). Then again,
maybe the reporter involved simply doesn't recognize b.s. when he/she
smells it.

Dennis K Rockwell
Kennewick, Washington
denniskrockwell at juno.com

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