This week’s article in the Herald Bulletin: Maleah Stringer: Stop the madness and report animal abuse I would think that by now I would not be surprised at the cruelty that humans inflict on animals, but I find myself constantly amazed by how callous and inhumane people can be, not just toward animals but children and the elderly — basically anything that takes breath. It makes me worry about the future of our world. A woman ran into the shelter the other day with a tiny terrier mix dog wrapped in a blanket. Its little head was lolling and what we thought was dirt turned out to be fleas — the little dog was literally crawling with fleas. The woman had found her and begged us to help the poor little dog. About an hour later another woman came tearing in. She had a found another little terrier in a similar condition on the same street. The first dog turned out to be a six-month-old puppy who also has a bad front leg, either from birth, being locked in a cage or it had been broken. We are waiting to hear from our veterinarian. The other dog is eight to 10 years old. I also need to mention that not only were these little dogs covered in fleas, they had maggots in various orifices. We bathed both dogs numerous times and gave them flea preventative. They were so matted we had to practically shave them to the skin. Both have on sweaters. They are the sweetest dogs, they love to snuggle and be held. No one has come looking for them, but then why would they? How do you allow an animal who is dependent on you get in this condition? How do you look at that day after day? Or do you put them in a cage at the back of the yard so you dont have to look at them or think of them at all? How do people who come to your home and see these animals continue to turn their heads? What are the children who are seeing the manner in which these animals are treated learning? Have we become so desensitized to cruelty that we readily accept anything? Animals are abused and neglected each and every day across the country and nothing happens to the abusers. But how can we expect anything different when we look at the crimes that are committed against children and the perpetrators who go unpunished? Are we living in a society that believes compassion for animals is a weakness, that protecting those in our society, human or animal is a sign of weakness? If you see animal abuse, please call the authorities, even when you think they dont care or are not going to address the issue. Its only when we stop calling, stop noticing, stop being outraged by it that the perpetrators win. That is when there is no hope. Please, if you see an animal or child being abused, call the police. It is against the law. If you know someone who cannot afford to spay/neuter their pets, offer to help. And if you have room in your home and your heart adopt a shelter animal. Maleah Stringer is executive director of the Animal Protection League, 613 Dewey St., Anderson. She can be reached at 356-0900 or at maleahstringer@aol.
Posted on: Sun, 06 Jul 2014 13:33:30 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015