Doggie doings

Mama told me I shouldn't post things about Texas that will make people make fun of the Lone Star State. So I want you to be sure and read all of this post to see that I am actually making fun of the shared (or at least connected) weirdness of Texas and Wisconsin. I mention that because the first part is kind of longish...

A small-town mayor accused of secretly keeping her neighbors' dog after telling them the pet died has resigned, and a judge is set to decide custody of the Shih Tzu.

Grace Saenz-Lopez apologized Friday to Alice residents and said she believed her actions were in the dog's best interest.

...

A neighboring family accuses Saenz-Lopez of refusing to return the dog after leaving it in her care while they went on vacation. A day after her neighbors left, Saenz-Lopez called to tell them Puddles had died.

Three months later, a relative of the neighbors saw the pet at a dog groomer. When Saenz-Lopez refused to return the dog, the family filed a criminal complaint and a civil lawsuit against her.

Homero Canales, who represents Saenz-Lopez, has said his client believed the dog would die if returned to her neighbors.

Saenz-Lopez, the city's mayor since 2003, was indicted Jan. 18 on two felony counts of tampering with evidence and concealing evidence.

Those charges came after Saenz-Lopez filed a police report claiming the dog was missing. The dog was later spotted at the home of Saenz-Lopez's twin sister, in Ben Bolt, about 10 miles from Alice.

City commissioners voted unanimously last week for a resolution urging Saenz-Lopez to resign. Mayor Pro-Tem Juan Rodriguez will take over mayoral duties.

Okay, now the Wisconsin connection. The Sheryl Albers mentioned in the following section is from neighboring Reedsburg:

A Wisconsin legislator wants state law to govern how divorced couples handle custody disputes — over their pets. ... After sniffing around the bill’s provisions, several divorce attorneys were trying to decide whether to growl or wag their tails.
...
Albers hasn’t said much about why she introduced the bill, but members of a McFarland family said that Albers has personal reasons — a messy divorce that involved Albers’ husband and a Labrador retriever mix named Sammi. Albers also pushed another bill related to that divorce.
...
In 2003, [Albers's now-husband's] divorce was finalized. The divorce included wrangling over who would have to care for and pay for their dog. The dispute arose, she said, because neither [his then-spouse] nor Anders, who married Albers this year, wanted the aging dog, but their three children did. Sammi [the dog] died in February at 16.

Albers introduced her bill [in June.].

...

As part of the divorce, Dane County Circuit Judge Sarah O’Brien ordered that Sammi go with the children as they split time between Symons’ and Anders’ residences...

Albers wasn’t happy with the judge’s decision and told the children she didn’t like the long, messy hair shed by the dog...

In a statement, Albers responded, “Individuals who are parental alienators or engage in controlling behavior of spouses or children sometimes use family pets to exercise control. That is inappropriate.”

So one politician is protecting a dog from potential (unspecified) harm, and the other one is bummed out because she was expected to deal with a dog that belonged to her husband's children by a previous marriage. At least the mayor of Alice didn't drag the state legislature into it! I also note that the poor man who married Ms. Albers refused to comment on the whole episode.To the best of my knowledge -- and remember that I worked for divorce lawyers -- the legislature didn't pass any pet custody statute.