A Cry Against Animal Cruelty

The thought of this act is heartless. It cuts through and breaks the heart of those of us who love and care for our animals, and animals everywhere. Someone actually placed a poor, defenseless dog in a plastic bag. As if this was not cruel enough, then they had the gall to tape this poor creatures's mouth shut. So much so that the poor thing could not even cry out. My God! My heart dropped when I saw the images and my mind could only imagine the fear and terror this poor animal must have felt when this was being done to him. I can thankfully say, this brave heart, named Saint Vincent, is on the mend and doing much better. And thank goodness for The New York Bully Crew and a young man named Craig Fields who rescued this beautiful creature from harm's way. This brings to mind for me again the plight of animals and how heartless some people can be towards them. Animal cruelty is an act that simply must not be tolerated.

Just like discrimination, sexual harrassment, social injustice; these are acts that we cry out against when they take place because we know they are wrong and must not continue. I address animal cruelty in Chapter 11 and Chapter 15 of my book, "The Fur Beneath My Wings: Our Relationship With Animals And The Valuable Lessons They Teach Us" and I try to examine this type of behavior from the abuser's perspective. Let me state for the record, I do not and never will tolerate any type of cruelty towards another human being or an animal. I will cry out against it, and if I find the individual committing the abuse, I am turning that individual in to the police. Trust that!! I have to examine the abuser and why he/she would commit such acts against a poor defenseless animal. I have seen videos and images of men who shoot and kill animals (elephants, lions, etc) for sport. These spineless excuses for men brazenly go into the territory of these animals and hunt and kill them .Then they have the audacity to take pictures and sport it around the world. What kind of mind does this? There are people who are in, or come from abusive situations, and this is what they know. So, when they are in a position to act out on another person ( or in this case an animal), they do. Some of the acts are small, but no less an act of cruelty. Chaining a dog outside to a fence in the blazing heat with barely a drop of water. Leaving them in the sun for hours with no form of shade or protection from the elements. Its just wrong. Or the person who kicks and beats an animal because they are having a bad day, and they need to release this anger and frustration out on someone or something. Their mindset is not correct, and they just want to lash out. Now if you add drugs and alcohol to the picture, the scenario becomes considerably worse, sometimes fatal. We cannot presume to know what is in the heart and mind of a person. We are not all trained psychologists and therapists. We can only examine human behavior as we see and know it. If someone is constantly yelling at their dog, I take note. That person is angry or frustrated with something. Maybe themselves. They need to release this anger, and they do so towards their animals.

I have become a keen observer of people when they are out with their pets. Most dogs, by nature, are generally friendly. If you allow them to smell you and they don't sense danger from you, they are pretty congenial. It is the owner of these pets who transmits this energy to them , and has that "stand off" behavior that makes the dog not want to interact or play. I have to be honest here, I hate seeing this. My dog only reacts defensively to someone she does not know. If they pose a threat, she barks at them until they present themselves to her. When she can see that they are non-threatening, she is most playful and interactive.

Animal activists have long been crying out against this type of behavior towards our furry friends. It almost seems like an all out war to find these offenders and bring them to justice. Sadly, people are still abusing animals and misusing them for their own selfish, greedy purposes. They are allowing whatever is wrong with them to continue to project onto these defenseless ones. I will stand and support anyone who is against animal cruelty. I have read some heartbreaking stories, and I have also read some with happier outcomes. We must continue to make people aware of this problem. We (as pet parents and animal activists) must rally to our lawmakers and enforce regulations. We must cry out for stronger laws in the land to be enforced and followed through. If we just sit by idlely, the problem will NOT go away. Lets not wait until we hear about another gut wrenching event where an animal falls victim to some act of cruelty. Let's take action NOW!! I do love and care about the state and welfare of animals everywhere. I hope there are others who are equally as passionate, and will join me in this ever continuing fight to become that voice for the voiceless and defender of the defenseless.