When Will There Be Justice?


I need to rant. I am fed up with cruelty, neglect and exploitation of the innocent and weak among us. The victims are animals, children and the elderly. There have been so many stories lately about absolutely horrendous acts of cruelty against animals. In far too many cases, the guilty party gets a slap on the wrist, if that. Courts have traditionally not taken animal abuse seriously, although numerous studies have linked animal abuse to such things as serial murders. Much animal abuse is considered a simple misdemeanor. Prosecutors and courts, overwhelmed with other cases, often are reluctant to pursue charges and serious sentences. The feeling that "It's just a dog" or "It's just a cat, or horse or whatever other animal" is far too prevalent.

Animals are not the only victims of human stupidity and cruelty, of course.
Child abuse is another plague that is tolerated far too much in our society. A 2-year-old girl died in Albuquerque a few weeks ago after her mother left her strapped into her car seat for nearly 3 hours. The mother had 'forgotten' that the child was in the car when she took her 4-year-old to an appointment. Outside temperatures were in the mid-90s. The temperature inside the van? 135 degrees.

A local man donned boxing gloves and punched his 2-year-old son at least 15 times in the head and torso, at one point hitting the child so hard he flew off the bed. The boy suffered brain damage and was put on life support until his organs could be donated. The father waited nearly an hour to call 9-1-1. His explanation? He was trying to teach his son how to box.

A 2-year-old child in Concord, CA, was mauled to death by three of the family's five dogs when the child wandered into the garage where three of the dogs were. Where were the family members responsible for watching the child? As a result of their carelessness (that's far too generous a word, in my opinion), the child died and all five dogs were put to death.

I believe it is time for the gloves to come off and for people to be absolutely outraged that in a supposedly 'advanced' country like the United States of America, such things are allowed to continue. Punishment needs to fit the crime. No more excuses about how the perpetrator had a 'hard' childhood, or didn't do well in school, or comes from a dysfunctional family, or grew up 'in the hood' or whatever other lame excuse is offered to excuse the abuser's behavior. It seems that the more advanced we become technologically, the more primitive our behavior becomes.

I know that jails and prisons are overcrowded. But we as a society need to start dealing with these thugs seriously. No more probation or 'time served.' No second chances. Abuse is not acceptable in any form, and those who abuse others need to be held accountable and punished appropriately.

I have a problem with people who are intentionally cruel to animals. People like the man who left his dog locked in a cage, with no food, water or shade, in 100-degree temperatures for three days. Imagine the suffering that poor dog endured. Or the group of three young people who viciously beat to death a baby llama, apparently for the 'fun' of it. Those people need to face harsh consequences.

I know that the number of dogs and cats being put to death in U.S. shelters and animal control facilities has dropped considerably since I left my humane society job in late 1988. More people seem aware of the importance of spaying and neutering. But sadly, the puppy mills that mass-produce dogs for sheer profit continue to thrive. People out to make a quick buck continue to produce 'designer dogs' such as golden doodles, puggles (pug/beagle mixes), labradoodles and other ridiculous combinations while millions of mixed-breed dogs are put to death every year because there are no homes for them. And people willingly pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for these mixed-breed 'designer' dogs while others die.

Don't get me wrong; I have nothing against mixed breed dogs. My Mila is a Lab/beagle mix, and I have shared my life with several wonderful mixed breed dogs. My heart dog, Jackson, was a Jack Russell terrier/cattle dog mix. But purposefully creating a new 'style' of dog simply for marketing purposes is just plain wrong. I am not an animal rights advocate. But there is so much more to be done to protect animals in this country.

I try to live a life of minimal impact on the earth. I recycle everything; I reuse and I give away things I can no longer use. I drive a hybrid car. I walk or ride my bike on short errands. I am a conscientious omnivore, trying to make informed choices about what I eat and drink. But I am tired of the animals with which we supposedly share this planet being treated as disposable goods. Far too many people treat animals as either disposable commodities or as nuisances to be exterminated.

People purchase or adopt a puppy. The puppy gets no training, and of course it grows up to be a big, ill-mannered, out-of-control dog. The dog gets dumped at the local animal shelter, if it's lucky, to become someone else's problem. A lovely German shepherd puppy named Emily was adopted from the shelter where my daughter volunteers. A couple of weeks later, Emily was returned. Why? The family didn't have time for her. Didn't they think of this before taking on the commitment of raising a puppy? Are they that stupid??

People allow their female dog to have a litter of puppies "because she's such a great dog and would be a wonderful mother." Sometimes the animals suffer because of human ignorance. Other times, animals suffer because of human stupidity.

Albuquerque news media has been full of stories of stupid people causing the death of innocent animals. Example: A couple and their little dog go camping in a national forest where camping is not allowed. They store food in their tent. And surprise, a bear wants the food and attacks them as they sleep. The people were injured but not seriously. The little dog was killed and eaten by the bear. And the bear? It was tracked and shot by rangers for being a threat to people. This is a true incident that happened in New Mexico a few weeks ago. More than 30 bears have been executed in New Mexico for being 'nuisances' to people just this year. We take over their habitat, destroy it or build houses in their territory, then we get upset if a bear dares to walk across our property or do what bears do -- search for food.

Example: The endangered Mexican gray wolf has been reintroduced into parts of New Mexico, in an attempt to reestablish packs of these magnificent animals in part of their former territory. Recently, three alpha males were found shot to death. The alpha male of another pack, which was wearing a radio collar, has been missing since April. In the most recent case, a dead cow, also shot, was found not far from the wolf's body.

Wolves are the precursors of dogs. Millions of people in the United States share their lives with dogs. So how can these magnificent animals be so hated? Wolves are killed for 'sport' (something I will never understand) or because they are supreme predators and eat moose (a favorite object of hunters in Alaska) or occasionally cattle. So we should exterminate them? I just don't understand.

I feel so helpless when I read about yet another case of abuse, whether the victim is a child, an animal or an elderly person. What can I as an individual do to help? Fortunately, the courts seem to take abuse of another human being more seriously. But what of the 'lower' animals who are far too often the victims of human cruelty?

What justice is there for them? How long will those of us who care (and there are millions of us) sit by and wait for justice for those who cannot fend for themselves?

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I wish there was some kind of answer for all the outrages you rightfully point out.

I work for a private non profit called Prevent Child Abuse. Apparently there is no "public" interest in preventing child abuse as we get no federal or state or county or city dollars to do our work. However, churches and individuals make donations plus we can apply for grants (very competitive, because there are lots of worthy organizations that need funds).

All I can say is I totally agree with you. I am on email lists for shelter and abused animals. The things that humans can do just sickens me. The most recent one sent to me was a golden retriever in a shelter in GA that the local humane society was trying to get out. He had spent days at the shelter in terrible pain. All four legs were broken. He had apparently been hit by a car and then crawled under a porch where the people finally called AC several days later. So he was beyond repair and starved almost to death.

We have an 18 month old baby who was killed by his mother who never wanted him. A 5 year old girl who was sold into prostitution by her mother to pay for a drug debt. The guy who bought her killed her that night after, well, you know.

It's such a sick world and I can't understand how people can be so depraved.

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Very well said. I too cannot stand the injustice of people who treat the innocent on this world with such cruelty. To me, ignorance IS cruelty especially when ignorance results in death or suffering. I feel sick to my stomach reading about stories like the one you referenced or the ones around here. A cat was put in a microwave last year by a bunch of boys south of the city I live in, a puppy was kicked to death by it's owner...it makes me absolutely sick. My own dog is a rescue with a past history of abuse and neglect. It took me weeks before I could look at him without tears in my eyes thinking about everything he'd been through.

The worst part is the feeling of helplessness. I wish I had the money and resources to better educate the public and help the suffering, be it animals or children or whatever/whoever is in need. In the meantime, I'm a huge advocate of rescues. Not only did I help a dog live a better life than the one he had, but the measly $250.00 I spent on him went towards helping other dogs in need, instead of padding somebody's pocket. Thanks to that money, more female dogs have been spayed to help reduce the pet overpopulation and maybe another dog will be rescued and given a second chance at life, like Ranger.

I'm currently stockpiling a bunch of lightly used, outgrown dog items so I can donate to the rescue I adopted Ranger from so they can help out other dogs in need. Winter's fast approaching here and there's going to be more stories of starving pregnant females giving birth in minus 20 degree weather...not to mention the roaming packs of dogs who won't hesitate to kill a weaker member. I wish I could save them all, but at least I know my money is going to help the rescues who try to do something about it.

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Member of the "Crazy 4 Collars Clique"

Want to see the menu of a raw fed dog? Check out my blog!

Humans can be absolutely disgusting.

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You say we are an "advanced" country but I don't know about that. I think it's more that we are a spoiled country and quite honestly, one that has been going downhill for a long time as a people. I was talking to my grandparents and asking them about how mindblowing it must be to have seen the change so much in 80 to 90 years and those changes have not been for the better. People, values, patriotism, language, etc etc had gone into the crapper to their view. Can you believe that today the right to curse at work is being called a first amendment right? Or that Trogan condoms run their ads all day long and that cursing is now acceptable to be heard on TV/the radio at all times of the day. I remember when I was a kid, all those adult commercials didn't come on until 10 pm when kids should be in bed.

I think that these things that horrify you are really just symptoms of a self entitled people who live in a throw away society. Don't get me wrong, I am proud to be an American and I personally live my life to be a positive unit in our society but I know that people like me are far outnumbered - even looking around my town. There are good people maybe 40% and then examples of what I'm talking about here (60%). If we were talking just parents, probably around 2 or 10 are caring, responsible parents and that's much much worse. I for one will miss my grandparents and my dads generation so very much as I think they much more have a better attitude/take on life than us younger folks do.

This will be a preaching to the choir kind of post so don't take this as a personal insult. Forums like this bring together people who actually care and are passionate about things like their dogs. People who care about something so much that is not human care much more about other issues and the plights of other innocents. I personally find it a great thing to be able to be a part of a place where there are so many quality people - it gives you hope after seeing all the bad.

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"Some days you're the dog, some days you're the hydrant."

~Jenn and Leif