Tough sheriff kind to critters, but muzzled by animal group
Maricopa County Sheriff Joseph M. Arpaio is known as "America's Toughest Sheriff," but he has a secret that not many people outside Arizona know: He loves little critters, like puppies and kittens.
Honored for his humanitarian efforts by the Humane Society of the United States, he also received the lifetime achievement award from the nonprofit group In Defense of Animals for his work encouraging police agencies nationwide to take more seriously the crimes of animal cruelty.
He puts animal abusers in jail instead of giving them citations.
The sheriff even has dedicated an air-conditioned jail solely as a sanctuary for dogs, cats and other animals that have been removed by his deputies from abusive and neglectful homes. He began a training program for some of his female inmates to learn how to care for, groom and train those very animals.
So you might imagine how disappointed he was when President Becky Barnes of Guide Dog Users Inc. (GDUI) booted him as the keynote speaker for its July national convention in Phoenix because of his tough stance on immigration enforcement and the state's pending immigration law.
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