GOOD PETS GONE BAD

Flipping through channels last night, I caught a program called, "Good Pets Gone Bad". There were stories about horse attacks, bull attacks, diseased monkey escapes, cat attacks....but the story that caught my attention was about Casper, a reindeer.

Casper's owner was a guy named Ted who liked to dress up like Santa and sported a long white beard and had a barrel chest and did, indeed, remind me of Santa.

The story opens with Ted telling us that Casper was his favorite reindeer out of the whole herd. He went on telling us how gentle Casper was. Until.....

One morning, Ted went out at 6:30 a.m to feed the reindeer. I think he always wore his Santa suit, because in the actual footage of Ted's rescue, he was attired in a santa suit. Anyhow, Ted said it was mating season and he must have gotten too close to Casper's favorite doe (I forget her name) when he was putting the feed in the trough because the next thing he knew, Casper was attacking him. Ted grabbed onto Casper's antlers and held him off for about 30 minutes before Casper was able to pin him to the ground. By this time, neighbors heard Ted's cries for help and called 911. What was interesting to me as they replayed the 911 call and dispatch of emergency help was that the dispatcher just directed them to the Ted Avery's (fake last name, I can't remember THAT either!) and didn't have to give an address. This was because 1) it was a rural area and everyone knows everyone else, or 2) let's face it...a guy who feeds his reindeer while wearing a santa suit? I think law enforcement must have been very familiar with Ted before then.

The attack lasted about 90 minutes before emergency personnel were able to subdue Casper, who had to be wrestled to the ground so his antlers could be pried from Ted's leg. Ted was carted off to the ambulance and was receiving treatment when news reached him that Casper had suffered a fatal heart attack. The footage showed Ted weep upon hearing the news.

It didn't take long for the pratical to take over though. Ted's dad cooked up Casper, even filmed his filets frying in a pan. The story ends with Ted saying that, "He tasted pretty good!"

MORAL OF THE STORY: I can't come up with one. All the cliche morals don't seem to fit, like
*Waste not, want not!
*Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.
*Nothing ventured, nothing gained.