"Who let the wallabykillin' dogs out, who? Who?"

According to police, the mixed-breed dog and a mastiff mix got out of an Oshkosh home and entered the zoo on May 15 through the front gate.

Police Sgt. Matt Kroening said the dogs started harassing the wallabies, whose defensive mechanism is to try to flee. Although the dogs couldn't get inside their enclosure, one of the wallabies was fatally injured and the other is recovering from its injuries.

Kroening said the dogs' owner will get two citations for dogs running at large, each carrying a fine of $216.75.

Kimberly Smith said the incident with her dogs was "a freak thing." She said her 2-year-old son opened the door and the dogs got out.

That is a freaky chain. Kid's lucky he's 2; I imagine a 12-year-old might have been punished or something, even though age doesn't affect the causal chain. Heavy fines, though. Hopefully everyone's satisfied. What's a more sympathetic animal that might engender human sympathy -- a giraffe? Something more delicate and endangered? Mmm... monkey babies? "Loose dog scared a monkey baby to death? Who let the dogs out?? That kid is grounded, and his parents are paying!" Justice by PR. Funny how some animals are naturally more sympathetic to us than others.

I'd like to see, say, a polar bear respond to an invading dog. Inside the enclosure, none of this barking outside stuff. Beautiful animal, but always seems so ...passive at the zoo.

Speaking of, I was there one day -- you should have seen the 2 rhinos going at it in chase and horn challenging. There's a big enclosure at the local zoo, and a small crowd had gathered. Have you ever seen a rhino run, and I mean really run? Nothing bloody happened, only a few body thumps, but plenty of grunting and posturing as one eventually was trying to back off. (It seemed more like a fight than anything sexual, but who knows how those things relate?) Still the running was amazing for their speed. Similar to one of those closing track meet races, where the shotputters and the field competitors sprint, or make the attempt.

But now I would like to see the polar bear respond to a pair of harassing dogs just to hear the polar bear, assuming growls are involved. Poor fleeing wallaby... What do you think? Nervous heart strain, or it turned and smacked into a wall or something? "Barked to death."