Support for Groom Shop

Editor:

We are subscribers to the Green Valley News and Sun.

We are writing to inform you that we will be canceling our subscription to your paper as a means of expressing our concern about a recent front page article written by Phil Franchine on Oct. 26, 2008, regarding an “animal neglect trial”

The tone of the article written by Mr. Franchine was rather inflammatory regarding numerous event which had allegedly ocurrred at the residence of Carol Halstead, owner of the Groom Shop.

Please not that, unlike your reporter, we choose to use the word alleged because the term allows for a judgment of fact without presumption.

One would expect that a newspaper article describing a pending trial would use “alleged” at last once.

The presumption of guilt or innocence should best be reserved for a court of law, and not be implied in newspaper editorial comments.

Regardless of the trial outcome, (there was a finding of failure to provide medicare care), there is always another side to the story.

Did your reporter attempt to describe Carol Halstead’s side of the story?

Mr. Franchine’s editorial embellishment, an example being “reportedly mauled to death,” does not accurately describe what Carol alleges happened. Unfortunately that side of the story was not told.

What the public reads in the newspaper article remains in their collective memory.

The nature and theme of the article has probably caused irreparable damage to Carol”s business, and we strongly object to reporting of this nature.

In interest of full disclosure, we are customers of The Groom Shop and have boarded our small dogs with Carol on many occasions without indicent.

We ar always saddened when we learn of someone’s pet dying; we also have lost pets in the past.

We have, however, found that Carol and her Groom Shop employees, have been very caring and attentive to our pet grooming and boarding needs, and we will therefore enthusiastically support her and her business in the future.

Fred and Diane Waggoner, Green Valley

Editor’s note: Our reporter, Philip Franchine, acquired all of his facts on the case from court documents, police reports and the County Attorney’s office. Nothing in any of his stories is factually inaccurate. Halstead told Franchine that she would comment on the situation after the case.