I never cease to be amazed at how stupid people can be. During the recent heat spell, at high noon no less, I saw a woman riding a bicycle on East Avenue with a dog tethered to her bike running beside her.

Every TV and radio station had been warning folks to stay inside and take it easy and to pay particular attention to their pets, making sure they had plenty of water and stayed cool and calm … indoors. Most people don’t need the news media to tell them to do that.

If that crazy woman wants to go bike riding when it is 90-plus degrees in the shade, then she should be able to pedal herself into a coma. Unfortunately, many pets belong to people who haven’t got the sense to stay home and take care of themselves, much less their furry friends.

If my fairy godmother ever shows up and grants me the three wishes my big brother told me I’d get if I did his chores for a week when I was in kindergarten, my first wish will be that every pet owner will have to swap lives with their pets for one week.

I’d like to be up front and center when that dog comes cycling up East Avenue on a boiling summer day with that stupid woman in a fur coat, panting and sweating at the end of a leash beside him!

Martha Gagne, Lewiston