Snake bites dog: South Korea police to honour dead canine
Seoul: A long-serving South Korean police dog killed in the line of duty – by a snake – will be honoured with a rare ceremony next month in a country where a million of his fellow canines are estimated to be eaten every year. Larry, a seven-year-old German shepherd, was searching for a missing person on a mountain in North Chungcheong province when the reptile bit him on his left hind leg in July. He is the first police dog to die “in the line of duty” anywhere in the country, the Daegu Metropolitan Police Agency said in a statement. Highly trained in tracking evidence through scent, Larry helped officers with 39 felony cases and took part in searches for more than 170 missing people since first being deployed in 2012. He provided a key clue to an unsolved murder last year after detecting the body of a woman buried 70 centimetres underground near a hiking trail. An officer told AFP that the carcass was cremated and a funeral service held after Larry’s death last month. “Roam freely in heaven,” read a caption on a photograph of Larry in front of flowers, pictures showed. Police have commissioned a bronze plaque “in honour of Larry” listing his achievements, which will be hung in the regional police headquarters at a ceremony in September, the officer added. It is a marked contrast to the fate of many dogs in South Korea, where their boiled meat has long been a part of the cuisine and remains a delicacy for some, with about one million dogs believed to be eaten annually. (AFP)
US bishop reconsiders 2.3 mn dollar retirement home
Los Angeles: A Catholic bishop who came under intense criticism after his plans to retire in a USD 2.3 million home in California’s Silicon Valley became public, now says he will finish his days in a rectory. Bishop Patrick McGrath confessed in a statement issued on Tuesday that he “erred in judgement” when the San Jose diocese purchased the five-bedroom home for his retirement. “I failed to consider adequately the housing crisis in this valley and the struggles of so many families and communities in light of that crisis,” he said. “I have heard from many on this topic and I have decided that I will not move into this house.” McGrath said the diocese planned to sell the nearly 3,300-square-foot (306-square-meter) home as soon as possible and any profits from the sale would go to a charity fund. “I assume full responsibility for this decision and I believe that the sale of the house is the appropriate action,” he said. “When I retire, I now intend to live in a rectory at one of our parishes.” The purchase of the home with money earmarked for this purpose as well as the sale of a condominium where McGrath’s predecessor lived flies in the face of the church’s stated mission to help the poor, critics said. It also is at odds with Pope Francis’ desire for a less ostentatious church. Following his election in 2013, Pope Francis decided to shun the official grand papal apartments to live in a modest residence. (AFP)