- Girl Scouts: The Silent Killers
- Ray Lewis Named New Pope
- John Edwards Admits Fathering Clay Aiken's Baby
7 Arrests In Susan Boyle, Diana Krall Entourage Brawl
SUBURBIA
Backlash As Helen Thomas Tells Stray To "Go Home"
WASHINGTON (CAP) - Former White House correspondent Helen Thomas continues to find herself in the midst of controversey, now facing intense neighborhood backlash after being caught on video telling a stray dog to "go home" and "get the hell out of my yard." Thus far, Thomas has refused to back down from her anti-stray remarks.
"Every day that damn dog comes into my yard and does his business all over my lawn," a cleary exasperated Thomas told CAP News. "I don't know where his home is, but he needs to be going to his yard to take care of that - not mine.
"Every day I clean up after this dog and get my yard looking the way I want - and then the next day he's right back there again," Thomas continued. "This has been going on far too long and it just needs to stop."
While no one in the neighborhood with whom CAP News spoke denied that the stray dog does spend quite a bit of time at the 89-year-old journalist's house, many noted that the dog tends to deliver his payload within close proximity to the road in an area technically owned by the town - an argument they say invalidates many of Thomas' complaints.
A CAP News investigation has proven this point to be true as a quick check of the town clerk land records shows that a two-foot strip of each property running adjacent to the road is indeed owned by the town and not the individual property owner. Pundits say this little known statute creates more problems than it resolves.
"Helen Thomas as property owner is responsible for keeping the sidewalk in front of her house clean and clear - yet the town owns that sidewalk," noted CAP News general counsel Joey Gouger. "The town does not have the resources to enforce any regulation of the bylaw, so there's nothing to stop any unwanted party from just camping out - or in this case, dropping the deuce - on land she considers to be hers but doesn't actually belong to anybody.
"It's a catch-22 with no easy or obvious solution," added Gouger. "And it remains this way because it's always been this way."
While many neighbors empathize with Thomas' plight, they say the new retiree needs to have some sympathy for the dog that clearly has no home. One neighbor who asked to remain anonymous told CAP News that he and others have tried numerous times to figure out where the dog belongs but were unsuccessful in each attempt.
"We checked with the Kowalskis, but they weren't interested in taking him in. And we tried the Eichmanns up the street, but they don't even like dogs," said the anonymous homeowner. "And we thought maybe the Smiths, but they already got a house full of strays that just wander in on their own - believe me, we've tried to find a home for this dog, but it ain't happenin'."
"You know, that dog's been crapping on Helen's lawn longer than she's lived there," another neighbor added. "I mean, she's owned the house for a long time, but until she retired, she never spent much time there. It's almost like that dog is more of a resident than she is."
Thomas said she has no intention of taking the situation lying down - or, sitting pretty, for that matter - and plans to engage the local dog catcher for assistance. However, CAP News calls to animal control were met with apathy and repeated insistence that they don't like to get involved in issues pertaining to that neighborhood.
- Banner Stands» Browse banner stands by Post-Up Stand. Trade Show Displays, Retractable Banner Displays, and more. High quality, 48 hour turnaround time!
- Advertise Here» Do you have a product or service of interest to CAP News fans? Contact us now for rates and availability!
