The winners and the losers

• Loser: Utahns have long rationalized that the state's per-pupil education funding is the lowest in the nation, but few states make a greater effort per taxpayer. That's no longer the case. According to a new Utah Foundation report, Utah could be ranked 47th in the nation instead of dead last for education spending if not for changes to the state's income and property tax structures during the dot-com boom of the 1990s. This isn't news to state education officials, who have attempted to bring this issue to lawmakers' attention on several occasions since. Legislators, who have been debating further changes to the state's tax structure, have greater impetus to take these findings into account. After all, Utahns consider education the state's top spending priority, according to numerous public opinion polls commissioned by the Deseret Morning News.

• Loser: Many people consider their dogs more than their best friends. They're part of the family. Pet lovers can surely empathize with a Utah County woman who says her dog was wrongly euthanized after spending only four days in the South Utah Valley Animal Shelter. The legal holding period for dogs with identifying tags or microchips is five days. This story is further complicated by allegations that the dog was euthanized out of spite for its owner, something the animal shelter director denies. Regardless, the shelter needs to follow established policy, particularly considering that there is a greater likelihood that an owner who uses identification tags or a microchip wants their dog returned to them.