The writers and editors here at Dogster have been examining these photos, and the conclusion is pretty much unanimous: We don’t see what the problem is here.
Oh, sure, the folks at the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office administration building in Florida don’t see it that way. What they see are a pair of brand-new rugs, put in place in their lobby a few weeks ago, with a background of green and featuring the yellow sheriff’s-badge-shaped emblem bursting with the pride and stature of their prestigious office.
But when you look closely at one of the rugs, inside the logo depicting the state map super-imposed over a lakeside scene with a bright yellow sun rising, there are the words: “In Dog We Trust.”
Not “God.”
“Dog.”
It took a few weeks, but one of the sheriff’s deputies noticed the error on Wednesday. The $500 rug was quickly whisked away. A new one is being prepared by a contrite American Floor Mats company, which accidentally transposed the letters.
The Pinellas County K-9 Unit has not commented on this development.
UPDATE: The sherriff’s office has decided to put the rug up for auction. According to Bay News 9 in Tampa, bidding on the rug, which started at $100, had already reached $1,000 as of Thursday evening. All proceeds from the sale will benefit the local animal rescue group Canine Estates, Incorporated, in Palm Harbor.
“It just took one person, I guess, looking down yesterday and saw it, and there you go,” said Sheriff Bob Gualtieri. “I’ve received emails from people as far away as the United Kingdom, all over Europe, Mexico, South America, and certainly here within the United States that will do anything to get that rug.”
Via WFTS-TV Tampa Bay and Bay News 9
Read more news about dogs:
- TLC Rescue Founder Saves 21 Foster Dogs From Fire
- Jed, ‘Britain’s Most Overlooked Dog,’ Has Found a Forever Home
- This Dog Rides Bus to the Dog Park Alone
About the author: Jeff Goldberg is a freelance writer in Quincy, Mass. A former editor for MLB.com and sportswriter for the Hartford Courant who covered the University of Connecticut’s women’s basketball team (Huskies!) and the Boston Red Sox, Jeff has authored two books on the UConn women: Bird at the Buzzer (2011) and Unrivaled (2015). He lives with his wife, Susan, and their rescue pup, Rocky, an Italian Greyhuahua/Jack Russell mix from a foster home in Tennessee, hence the name Rocky (as in Rocky Top).
