Beware of Animal Lovers (that includes me)
People who consider themselves, or are labeled, animal-lovers are generally viewed as gentle souls who genuinely care for the welfare of animals, whether it be dogs, cats, circus and zoo animals, horses, lab animals, ocean life, livestock…whatever. But we animal-lovers are a bloodthirsty lot.
I regularly read and comment on articles published by Examiner.com’s Penny Eims, the Dog News Examiner. Penny writes about, what else?, dogs in the news. Unfortunately, the news is usually bad. I don’t know the record number of articles Penny’s published in one day, but I’m pretty sure there’s always at least three, sometimes five or more. These are articles about individual cases of dog abuse—dogs starved, beaten, and murdered by their owners; killed by overzealous police officers and nasty neighbors; left to bake in hot vehicles; et al. These stories also include the institutional abuse of dogs—shelters that “euthanize” (aka “slaughter”) dogs, puppy mills, and breeders.
I guess I’m a pacifist; if there has to be violence in the world, let it be on-screen where I have control. I can always turn off a DVD or television program, or walk out of a theater; the important thing is knowing that it’s all pretend. I have learned, however, that this pacifist has some pretty disturbing “fantasies” or thoughts on occasion, as do many of the gentle souls who love animals.
When I see a headline describing a tortured animal, my immediate response is that the authorities should torture the perpetrator. Slit a dog’s throat? Get your throat slit. Beat a dog? Get beat. Maybe it’s because the abused animals are defenseless, and many of the abusers are psychos and sociopaths (or, more correctly, “exhibit antisocial personality disorders”).
Am I exaggerating the evil thoughts of loving people? You decide. Today Penny reported on a man in Colorado who “used a kitchen knife to slash [his puppy’s] face” because the puppy did what puppies do, nipped at him. The puppy “underwent three hours of surgery, and then had to be placed in an oxygen tent” as a result of this man’s actions. My reaction? Put him in jail and make sure everyone knows what he did. I recently spoke out in favor of shunning—if legislators won't enact strong anti-abuse laws, then the identity of abusers should be published far and wide and the community should shun them.
Comments to this story included mention of “the global army of warriors against animal abuse,” “Weatherspoon, i hope u get u'r ass kicked~badly. OR...somebody comes at u with a knife n do 2 u what u did 2 this baby.......it's ppl like u who make me so angry that i want things like this 2 happen....i am NOT a violent person by nature...,” “ These guys need to be neutered themselves,” “Give me about three min and prison would feel like a day camp compared to what I'd do. What a punk bitch!,” and my very favorite, “they should nail him to a tree and do what the indians used to do skin him 1 inch at a time then let the buzzards come and get him that way we wont have to worry about him doing it again” (the imagery is sickly satisfying).
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