Dear Editor,

As a longtime member of this mountain community, I am deeply saddened, disheartened, outraged and disgusted to learn of the alleged acts of Jarrod Rothwell, who, according to the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office and upon information and belief, lit his home on fire and walked away.

He left his dog behind to perish in the flames, according to the report (https:// content.govdelivery.com/accounts/COBOULDER/bulletins/369dd68).

As many of us may already be well aware, animal cruelty is on the rise in our country. That this is the second incident of animal cruelty this summer in which a dog was the innocent victim at the hands of a clearly disturbed individual, is alarming at least, deeply concerning for what it represents, and profoundly unsettling at its extreme.

That his actions could have started a wildfire from which we would all be fleeing from our homes does not escape my awareness, either, as I am sure it does not yours.

The fact that Jarrod left his dog to die in the fire is as deeply psychologically disturbing as it is emotionally and spiritually wounding. One person’s actions reverberate throughout the human community, regardless of whether or not we were personally acquainted with the perpetrators and their victims. We feel the brutality and apathy in the face of our daily lives as the blunt trauma it represents.

Until my last breath, I am an animal lover, and I know many in this community who are the same. On behalf of that sweet dog who did not deserve to suffer and die in such horrific ways, I am calling upon my fellow animal lovers:

Send a letter to the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office, Attention: Ryan Day, Case No. 23-04282; ryday@bouldercounty.org, expressing your feelings, thoughts, concerns, support, or whatever you feel appropriate, on behalf of Jarrod’s dog.

It is incumbent upon those in positions of power and responsibility to respond with the level of seriousness and intention to ensure that these actions are addressed and send a message to others. They need to know we will not stand by and allow the death of an innocent dog to go ignored.

Animal cruelty should be addressed with all the resources and laws available. We must protect the vulnerable beings, and affirm in our community that subjecting innocent animals to harm and injury is as abhorrent a crime as if committed against a human being.

On behalf of Jarrod’s dog,

Denise Boehler, M.A., Writer,Ecopsychologist, Rescue Dog Advocate

Nederland