Dear Editor,

My name is Judy Roberts. In the November 17-18 issue of the Newport Plain Talk, your reporter, Nelson Morais, did a piece on an injured cat named Patches, who came to  my house after it had apparently been ran over by a car. I was hoping the story would help me find a good home for Patches after recovering from the injuries.

The story was wonderful, and I would like to thank Mr. Morais and your entire staff for caring enough to do this story. I wanted to make sure that Patches was physically ok for someone to adopt, so yesterday we made a trip to my veterinarian. Unfortunately, Patches had internal medical problems that would never be better, and I had to make the decision to euthanize Patches. It broke my heart because I was expecting to bring Patches home.

I had fallen in love with Patches, and Patches had learned to love and trust me. Patches was suffering, so I had to do what I thought best. My only consolation in all this is that I know that for the last two months of Patches' life, Patches was loved.

I write this to let all the people out there know that they need to take care of their own animals, and not discard them for someone else to take care of. I get attached to animals very easily, so I get my heart broken over and over when I have to deal with an abandoned animal.

Since the Christmas season is right around the corner, I would just like to say please do not give your children pets for Christmas because they are not going to take care of them, and if you are not committed to take care of them for their entire life then you do not need a pet. Also, pets need a good, loving home. They do not need to be put in an 8-foot by 8-foot pen or tied up to a tree to spend their entire lives and hope someone remembers to feed them and say a kind word to them. And they definitely do not need to be thrown out with the garbage if you get tired of them. You should find them a good home or make a trip to the animal shelter yourself instead of leaving it for someone else to deal with.

Yes, God gave us dominion over the animals so that we would take care of them, not mistreat them. Please take care of your own animals or at least be responsible and find someone who can.

Thank you for letting me voice my opinion.

Judy Roberts