Animal Cruelty

This week there was great outrage over the discovery of many abused animals at a Humane Society location in the city. Several of the managers have been charged with cruelty to animals and relieved of their jobs. It is too early to surmise what was going on as the facts are not known yet and it would be unfair to lynch these guys until they have an opportunity to tell their side of the story. What is known however is that 7 animals had to be euthanized immediately based on the condition of their health. Many others required hospitalization and most need some good food and TLC. I am an animal lover, (not a fanatic that puts them ahead of people) that believes that we human beings have a responsibility to provide care, shelter and food to all domesticated animals. It was we who brought them out of the wild and into an environment where they didn’t have to rely on their natural instincts to provide the necessities of life. Instead they have been conditioned over centuries to rely on us for their basic needs that, in some cases, includes love and affection. Sometimes this can be misplaced affection as in a case involving this Humane Society shelter where it appears a dog was kept alive after it was ordered put down because of a vicious attack on a child. If this dog had repeated its behaviour on another child or adult it would have been a crime and really unnecessary if this shelter employee had followed the court’s instructions. The right thing to do was to euthanize this dog because it was not totally domesticated and thus represented a threat to people. But on average most pets and other domesticated animals are like children that never grow up mentally and therefore need to be cared for by their owners. Part of this care is to show compassion and understanding to these creatures that for the most part are ready, willing and able to do the jobs we want them to do. I cannot understand how anyone could intentionally hurt any animal unless it was in self defence. To do this type of thing you must have a piece missing upstairs that would indicate a lack of compassion and empathy. Unfortunately this behaviour is not usually restricted to four legged animals only so be aware of people like this for your own sake. I often think that subjecting abusers to the same treatment they inflict on their animals would be fair justice but then again that would make me just like them, heaven forbid.