It's easy to blame the "dog catchers," the animal control people or the Fish and Game officers who are left to deal with unwanted animals or animals taught dangerous behaviors by other people. Yet how many of these people have seen the capture and removal of a dangerous dog? An aggressive dog weighing less than 100 lbs. requires more than one person at times. Sometimes pepper spray is used. The subdued dog must also be lifted into the van to be taken to the animal shelter. You need a different transport for an animal over 100 lbs. A hog or horse, like a dog, doesn't have a flexible back that can allow it to turn and flip like a cat or a tiger. How often do these officers get to practice capturing a tiger?

The person(s) to blame for this tiger tragedy is the owner or owners-people who wanted something different from a dog, cat, snake, lizard, bunny, hamster, rat or horse. They wanted to be different and yet, many of these people prove to be like too many pet owners. They discover that after the novelty wears off, when the tedium of long-term care sets in, they no longer want their pet. The animal shelters nationwide are filled with this once-loved pets, waiting for a new home and more likely finding the only kindness they can expect is a merciful death. The streets and deserts and countryside are filled with animals dumped by their owners, some survive and some do not. The survivors become a health and safety hazard for people in those areas. The owners have long since forgotten and gone on to another pet or hobby.

Bubbles got attention because of Michael Jackson, but what about other exotic pets owned by people as humble as the West Covina couple with the chimp? And where is Bubbles now? It's rumored that a famous Hollywood animal trainer keeps him in his compound and will not comment about his celebrity guest.

As with Stockton's story, there is no easy answer where every one will be happy. A lady lost her finger. That's nothing compared to a man who has lost his nose and his testicles, yet there's a certain sense of irony there. If someone interviewed the lady, one wonders what she would say?

The tiger was killed, but his owners aren't the ones making the public protest. One can't possibly lose an 800-pound cat and not notice unless one has too many 800-pound cats to care about one gone missing.

Certainly, it's a shame that the tiger had to die and the lady lost her finger. It's a shame that the West Covina man was mauled and two chimps were killed as a result.

Officials have choices: allow these exotic animals to live or kill them; allow their owners to keep them or transport the exotic animals to licensed care facilities. Yet as these two recent incidents have shown, like Stockton's story, their choices both have drawbacks, both of which can be tragic.