Ever read a headline that just compelled you to read the story?

[Platapus]

Writing news story headlines is an art. Part informative, part marketing. The object is to whet the interest of the reader. Give them just enough information to lure them into reading further.

I ran across a well written headline today. There was simply no way I could resist opening and reading this news story.

"Dog eats paralyzed man's testicle "

How's that for a grabber? Informative, pretty much tells what happened, but at the same time rather compelling to read further.

With a headline like that, you just know it will be an interesting story.

http://poinsettcounty.kait8.com/news...-mans-testicle

Dog eats paralyzed man's testicle

A Trumann man awoke Monday morning to find his dog eating one of his testicles.


The man, who has not been identified, is paralyzed and told police he has “no feeling from the waist down.”


Around 7:45 a.m. Monday he was awakened by a “burning pain” in his mid-section, according to the initial police report.


The 39-year-old man told police he sleeps in the nude and noticed the dog was between his legs.


He also noticed the “small, white, fluffy dog” had blood on its muzzle and front feet.


When the man looked further, according to the report, he noticed that “the dog had eaten one of his testicles.”


The victim said the dog was a stray he had taken in about three weeks earlier. The man was unsure if the dog had been vaccinated.


Police took the dog to a local veterinarian where it was euthanized. Its head was sent to the Arkansas Department of Health to be tested for rabies.


The victim was taken to St. Bernards Regional Medical Center where he was treated for his injuries.

I am sure we can all feel sympathy for what happened to this gentleman. Having one of your testicles eaten by anything is something I think everyone can agree upon as being a "bad thing". On one level, we wish him a full recovery.


But, then there is the darker, less nice side of all of us who, in reading this story, get this uncontrollable urge to giggle at the idea of a man, who had his testicle bitten off by a dog, being taken to St Bernards hospital.