We may owe Ron Artest an apology: the Placer County DA will not file charges in the infamous dog abuse case that flipped Sacramento's lid last winter.

An investigation found that Artest was out of town when Socks the Great Dane got sick, and it was because the guys Ron-Ron hired to take care of Socks... didn't. Also, Socks had a bone infection which spurred the weight loss, previously thought to be caused by starvation/neglect.

And Artest has voluntarily given up the dog to an adoptive family, because of his travel obligations.

It's still an unfortunate episode, and Artest gets some amount of blame for his dog being sick to the point of Animal Service knocking on the door. But I hardly doubt Placer County wants to whitewash anything regarding Artest: He's selling his house and moving, whereas the neighbors who hate him are likely staying and voting for the next Placer County DA. These things indicate to me that Artest really is not guilty of animal abuse -- he's guilty of really bad judgment and a lack of compassion.