(UPDATE: No ticket was issued by Tool, and I just went and paid the Humane Society fee and paid for a rabies vaccination at a veterinarian so the young couple can pick up their dog at 3 p.m. today. Several lake residents contacted me offering to contribute to the cause. They are a 17-year-old couple with a baby, and they are living with a relative. They have no money. I'm happy we could help them. I just talked to the couple and the dog is home with them. They took it first to get a rabies shot, and they have made an appointment for it to be spayed next week, which is being paid for by the Humane Society. This story had a happy ending, but much of that had to do with the circumstances of the situation being observed by someone who had resources to help. What happens to all of the people and their pets who don't receive help?) TOOL -- I'm an animal lover and a supporter of the Humane Society of Cedar Creek Lake so I was a bit shocked today to see a family wanting to retrieve their lost dog turned away for a lack of money to pay fees. I went to the shelter to deliver my family's annual donation to the group and overheard a disturbing conversation. A young man, his wife and their baby stood at the counter asking for their dog. The wife said that someone had taken the dog on Dec. 16, which reportedly was wearing a T-shirt, from their yard. The dog apparently was captured by Tool officials and taken to the animal shelter, where if it is not adopted it eventually will be put to sleep. They told the volunteer that they had called Tool officials to determine if they had their dog and had been told the dog was at the shelter. I was going to pay the $55 fee the shelter volunteer demanded ($35 plus two days of boarding), but she said the couple had to first appear in Tool to pay fines to Tool officials. The young man asked to see the dog, and he was denied that request. After the young couple left, the volunteer told me that if they could not afford the $15 fee to have the dog registered, which they apparently had not, they couldn't afford to own it. There is something really wrong with that type of attitude when the Humane Society of Cedar Creek Lake puts dogs to sleep every Wednesday that they have been unable to adopt out. The group does a lot of good work, but they obviously have some progress to be made, particularly when they solicit and receive large donations from the community every year. They collected $189,000 for the construction of a new building in 2012. Let's hope they can figure out how to help this family out and reunite them with their dog.