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Word is, President Obama is set to grant a pardon Wednesday.

The presidential absolution will go to a turkey — not to the Washington, D.C., breed of turkey, but the Thanksgiving kind — a farm-bred bird from North Carolina.

The ceremonial gesture seems harmless enough in the great scheme of things. Although in this age of instant comment from what was called the “peanut gallery” in a bygone age, one wonders.

A routine report of the upcoming event — which noted the turkey was meeting with school children prior its White House appearance (Could a book tour be in the works?) — provoked three comments on the Web site of a TV station that picked up the pardon story from a local newspaper.

The first comment compared the event to Hitler pardoning a Jewish person at a concentration camp.

The second linked the tradition to dealing with the problems of an aging grandmother in a care center and the family having to settle for a potluck dinner.

Commenter No. 3 couldn't resist going political — comparing the president to the bird.

Whew! Can our national day of giving thanks get here soon enough?

But as long as the precedent of stretching an analogy to make a point is already out there, here's another one: Blount Countians don't have to win a presidential election to pardon an animal.

Consider the plight of dogs and cats serving a three-day sentence (five days for animals wearing tags) before facing euthanasia at the new Blount County Animal Center.

The opening of the shelter on Nov. 2 was welcome after having to rely for so long on the generosity of our Loudon County neighbors to handle our unwanted pets, abandoned animals and strays from Blount County. Thank you, Loudon County, for helping out.

Problem: The unwanted-animal situation in Blount County is so pervasive that the new shelter has already cut its operating hours so the limited staff can take care of housekeeping at the facility.

The new hours for the shelter — located at 233 Currie Ave. in Maryville — are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Blount County Animal Center is closed from noon to 1 p.m. for lunch each day. The phone number is 980-6244.

The building stands, but so does the reason it's needed. There are three ways to be part of the solution:

Take care of your pets by getting them spayed or neutered or by keeping them under control 24/7.

Contribute to Phase II of the shelter's construction that will go for a puppy room, cat room, surgery rooms, classrooms and a lobby. Mail donation checks to: Smoky Mountain Animal Care Foundation, P.O. Box 7218, Maryville, TN 37802.

Pardon an animal by adopting a pet from the Blount County Animal Center.

If a turkey can earn a pardon for Thanksgiving in Washington, Blount County's homeless dogs and cats surely deserve as much.