LETTER: Don’t jump to judge man in the park

To the Editor:

After reading the letter to the editor from Vince Williamson, I realized that he was the man that I would talk with daily while walking my dogs in Paperjack Greenway. He was always sitting under the same tree with his little cat, Blackie.

I didn’t realize that I should be afraid of him and call the police. The real story is that where he lived, he couldn’t have a cat, so he brought Blackie to a quiet place in the Greenway where he spent much time with him until (enter the police) he was told he was spending too much time there. His visits with Blackie were cut short.

Vince then began to worry about what might happen to his friend once school started – with much traffic and cold weather soon arriving. I told Vince about Gregory’s Gift of Hope and he was a little apprehensive that Blackie would be euthanized, but I assured him that Gregory’s is a no-kill rescue and rehome.

So the next day he trusted me (someone he only knew from our short visits when I walked by with my dogs daily) to take his beloved Blackie to Gregory’s. We both cried as goodbyes were shared, a loving relationship between a man and his pet were broken because a gentle, God-loving, nature-loving, animal-loving man spent too much time in the park.

Come on people, why are we so quick to judge? This man posed no threat to me or anyone else. I’m glad to call Vince a friend. And Vince, when you read this letter in the best weekly newspaper in the area, The New Richmond News, I have visited Blackie a few time at Gregory’s, and all the volunteers love him. He is gentle and loving as how he learned from his best friend, “the man in the park.”

Yvonne A. Reardon

New Richmond

Tags: letters to the editor, opinion