Star columnist and purple prose aficionado C.W. Gusewelle, you may recall, is a fan of Brittany spaniels. He’s been breeding the dogs for some time, and does not take criticism of his choices well. In fact, he has condemned those who complain about his choice to further overpopulate the pet world, referring to those critics as “shrill” and saying that their complaints “go into the trash at warp speed.” Classy. Unfortunately for C-dub, those critics will not go gentle into that good night. Instead, they will put pen to paper and compose harshly worded letters to the editor. So if you’re interested in a pretty meaningless controversy, and enjoy reading letters by people who appear to be way too interested in canines, read on.
Our first letter appeared on 12/21 and was penned by Janette Boehm:
Shrill? So now C.W. Gusewelle is calling his readers shrill? And calling his readers shrill while he spends five paragraphs of his column trying to justify the breeding of a dog? (12/14, B-1, “New litter preserves the Rufus pedigree”)
Maybe if Gusewelle didn’t throw his readers’ letters into the trash with “warp speed,” he’d find out that they are the ones in the trenches performing what he refers to as “some useful volunteer work to keep them occupied.”
They are the ones donating their time, money and gas each week transporting purebred and still abandoned Brittanys across the country to find them a second chance for life. They are the ones worried about protecting each and every Brittany’s life, not just the lineage lucky enough to have lived with Gusewelle.
Ouch. Harsh words for our favorite user of obscure terms. But the next letter, from C.G. Spielbusch (hey, a fellow double-initializer! Weird!), is even more critical:
I am writing to The Star instead of C.W. Gusewelle, because I want my writing read and not thrown into the trash “at warp speed” (12/14, Local, “New litter preserves the Rufus pedigree”).
My parents bred, raised, showed and sold Pomeranians. My sister bred, raised, showed and sold pups. But that was long ago. Today we fight and speak for those who cannot fight and speak for themselves — the strays, the neglected and abused, the hungry and the sick ones.
To help control the pet population, all cats and dogs should be spayed or neutered. And then, just maybe then, we can begin to rid the world of animal cruelty and abuse.
Too many cats and dogs are born, and there are not enough good homes to care for them. Millions of cats and dogs are euthanized every year. Visit any city’s animal control shelter or, better yet, volunteer there for a few days. You will see all breeds of purebred animals waiting to be adopted or euthanized. There are even beagles and Brittanys waiting.
And yes, C.W. Gusewelle, I do have better things to do than talk about your dogs.
Whoa! C-dub is taking a beating among the local pet-rescue-enthusiast community. I sure wish someone would step up and defend him. Wait, here’s Annie Heck:
Charles is an enthusiastic and longtime supporter of animal shelters, particularly Wayside Waifs. As vice president of Wayside, I was privileged to work with Charles on many special events. The shelter’s annual Fur Ball fundraiser, for example, wouldn’t be the same without his moving words on the plight of homeless animals.
And for years, Charles has requested that organizations donate many of his speaker’s fees to Wayside Waifs. His daughters are equally passionate in other animal welfare organizations.
All of that, I believe, is not negated by Charles’ buying a hunting dog once a decade from a reputable breeder.
Wait a minute… that’s not the C-dub I know. Now, if Annie had mentioned watching squirrels out the window and drawing some far-reaching conclusion about the ways of the world… now that would be the Gusewelle we all know and love.
We’ll see if C-dub takes on these issues in Sunday’s column. But, sigh, he’ll probably just write more about jigsaw puzzles.
