As an editor, it drives me crazy when a reporter comes back with a story missing a key fact. The “five Ws” and the “handful of Hs” are all I want. Who, what, when, where and why? How long? How much? How soon?

“How,” though, is often more like “however,” since there are always roadblocks to the truth. We hit on a dandy obstacle this week chasing down the strange tale of two Jersey County dog kennel operators charged with multiple counts of inhumane treatment of animals.

From the time I first got the tip on this story on Tuesday, all I wanted to know was “how many” animals were involved. That fact eluded us for another two days — a bit like a spooked Shih Tzu running for cover — which, in fact, was pretty close to the truth. There were Shih Tzus, Pomeranians, Boston terriers and all kinds of breeds, and they were in such miserable shape that it literally took your breath away.

The first number I heard was 70, which seemed pretty incredible, but reporter Laura Griffith, despite her best efforts, could get no more than an estimate of “at least 60” on our first day’s story.

By the next day, the number was still wavering. The veterinarian said he’d treated “about 35” and expected to treat “dozens more.” I heard privately the number was about 100. I’m pretty sure police and animal abuse investigators were still trying to figure it out.

By Thursday, it was time for the truth. At a press conference, State’s Attorney Ben Goetten and Sheriff Mark Kallal said the number was 115.

That’s official enough for me. That’s the number we’re going to stick with until it changes again.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 25th, 2008 at 7:41 am and is filed under Main. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.