What is Animal Abuse (Cruelty)

Animal Abuse...I have never understood how there could be such a thing.

How is it some people who choose to have a pet in their family turn around and treat it in such a manner that it constitutes abuse?   An animal is not forced upon a person.  The person chooses to add a pet as an addition to their family.  It is really quite simple.... do not choose to add a pet to the family if you can not treat it in the manner in which it deserves to be.

It is my opinion that part of the problem is people have a differing opinion of what abuse is.  It would be safe to say that in most cases naiveté and lack of education are a major factor in people not knowing what constitutes animal abuse but sadly, some cases are people who are just plain cruel and heartless.

Animal Abuse can be catagorized in two ways;  Passive Cruelty (Acts of Omission) and Active Cruelty (Acts of Commission).

Information taken from Pet-Abuse.com

Simply put, passive cruelty is animal neglect.   It is not the act that is the crime it is the lack of the act is a crime. This is why passive cruelty is considered an Act of Omission.  These acts include starvation, dehydration, allowing a collar to be imbedded in their skin, parasite infestation and inadequate shelter in extreme conditions.   One act many do not see as abuse, but is quickly being added to laws as being so, is keeping your pets on a lead or chain outside for long periods of time.  This is the one type of abuse that can be attributed to lack of education, and therefore educating the abuser in many cases can cure the problem.

On the other hand, active cruelty, implies malicious intent.  This is where a person intentionally inflicts harm and pain.  A person who commits an act of active cruelty have got to be signs of psychological problems with regards to the perpetrator.   It has been noted that this type of crime has been linked to sociopathic behavior.

Some of the crimes of active cruelty are dog fighting, physical or sexual abuse to the animal, or using or killing the pet to intimidate their partner in a more severe case of domestic abuse.

Regardless the case intentional or unintentional the cases of animal abuse have increased and the amount of people being held accountable seems to be on the decrease.   Between the plea bargains abusers are given and the lacksidasical approach to animal abuse the perpetrators of these crimes look at what they are doing as nothing more than an inconvenience.

In many of these cases the victim, the animal, pays the price for the mistakes for the human who chose to "care" for them.   That in itself is what is wrong with animal abuse.

As in the case of dog fighting, more often than not, the dog is deemed as vicious and euthanized.  Yet those who commit the crimes are often given nothing more than a slap on the hands because the legality of animals being "property" and not "living creatures" seems to make the crime not as serious.

When I first saw the following video it was the epitome of my utter contempt for those who abuse animals.   Yes in these cases there is an animal... and it is not the dog.

                                        Peace For Dogs PSA on You Tube

Animal Abuse whether be neglect, intentional abuse or dogfighting must stop and laws must change to allow the punishment fit the crime where the perpetrator is the one who is held accountable and not the victim.

To Forgive or Forget...I Say No Part 2

The issue with Michael Vick is one that disturbs me and perplexes me as to why I can have such feelings for someone I do not know and have not met.   Many people do not understand.  But let me clarify.

In my years of working with rescue animals and at a dog rescue, I have seen firsthand the hell that these dogs have gone through at the hands of horrible humans.   The scars, both physical and emotional that bring tears to your eyes when these dogs come into the rescue. Unfathomable how they do not know the compassionate touch of a human, the only the touch they know is of being beat or no touch at all.

 When the truth of what Michael Vick did came to light it sickened me.  How can a person do such a thing.   Not only fight these dogs but murder them with his own hands just because  they would not fight.  The methods he used were horrific and this is a human being who did this for the adrenaline rush of it.   As these dogs screamed in pain he just stood back at watched.

Before the excuses get brought to light.   There is no excuse for that.   None.   Michael Vick blames his upbringing for what he did.  Yet Vick told Sporting News Magazine in an (pre dog fighting) interview published April 9, 2001: "Sports kept me off the streets...It kept me from getting into what was going on, the bad stuff.  Lots of guys I knew had bad problems." It was obvious in his own words he knew right from wrong and stayed away from all of that.

Ironically at the time Michael Vick was sentenced he wrote a letter to the judge denying what he said in the 2001 interview.   All of a sudden he did not know any better.   What happened to "sports keeping him off the streets"?

An excerpt from the letter Michael Vick wrote the judge published in USA Today on December 12, 2007  is as follows: "Growing up in Newport News (Va), I was exposed to numerous illegal activities and dogfighting was one of them," wrote Vick. " I never understood why people (were) arrested for guns and drugs, but never for dogfighting.  No one really cared or called the police so I grew up not knowing the severity of the crime."

Vick letter to judge

It does not end there.  Interview after interview Vick's remorse for what he did to those dogs has never been mentioned.   It was the football career he lost that he was upset over.  It was that he got caught that made him the most upset.   Furthermore how does a family stand by and allow such behavior?  Six year of dog abuse, fighting, torture and murder happened at that house.  No one ever tried to stop it.  Why?

The preverbal nail in the coffin came with me in the interview Vick did with The Wall Street Journal in April of 2011.   He was asked if there was anything that he would chance in his life and Michael Vick said," I am happy that I turned out to be the person that I am.  I wouldn't change anything about my life if I could." Vick continued,  “Yeah, I did some really bad things and, yeah, I paid a really big price for it, but since I like where I am now and I wouldn't be here if I hadn't gone through all that, then I am okay with the things I did.”

Well I am not okay with what you did Michael Vick.  I am not okay with you torturing and murdering these dogs because they did not suit your needs.  I am not okay with the fact that you took your family pet, the dog your children loved, and threw it into the pit with the fighting dogs to "toughen" them up.   I am not okay you sat there and watched as it was torn to shreds.  What did you tell your children about that dog and how it was not there anymore?

The biggest thing I am not okay with...the fact you have another dog, and the nerve you have in saying you should be able to have one, and that it is not fair your kids had to suffer by not having a dog during the time of your probation.  Sadly they are clueless as to what their daddy did to their last dog.  You do not deserve the love of a pet.   You  should have never been allowed to have another dog.   You lost your rights to have one.  

I have seen too many dogs and the aftermath of what they have had to deal with at the hands of people like Michael Vick.  For that reason and the reasons listed above...are  why Michael Vick will not be forgiven, and the things he did will never be forgotten.

To Forgive Or Not To Forgive.....I say No Part 1

Two words, Michael Vick.

To some he is a sports hero, an icon, a man with a redemption story, and someone who overcame insurmountable odds.

To me and many others, he is a sociopath, a felon, a sick and twisted individual and a sadistic monster.  He is a man, I stand corrected, as no man would do this, admitted as a child that his first dogfight as a child excited him yet still knew it was cruel.  Yet here we are

The first dog fight- Clip from Piers Morgan interview 7/18/12 (You Tube)

I have yet to understand how a man who fights dogs, tortures them in the most horrific of ways, and does so for in his words, "the adrenaline rush of it" become a hero?

But to some he has, to others he is a monster.  There is no middle ground when it comes to Michael Vick.

What can we say about our society when that is the caliber of a human being that people want to look up to and allow their children to look up to?  I for one am disappointed.   Are the sins of this man forgotten because he can throw a football?   This is what constitutes a hero in our society?  To the sports world it does.

You never hear anyone in the NFL arena speak the truth of what Michael Vick did.   It was not just dogfighting as they suggest.  The time he served in prison was because he lied to the grand jury and bank rolled a dog fighting operation.  Furthermore contrary to popular belief he NEVER served one day for what he did to those dogs.   The truth will not go away because someone refuses to tell it.  The truth of what Michael Vick did to those dogs will always be there.

Michael Vick Indictment

The proof is in court documents.  No one made up the things he did.  The "hero" who puts his hands on the football every Sunday... those are the same hands that held a dog's head down in water until it drowned, and the same hands that held on to the legs of a dog along with Quantis Phillips and repeatedly swung the dog over his head bashing its head to the ground over and over until it was dead.

For those of you who do not know you ask,  Why?   The reason, because they would not fight.  Unless they could fight they were useless to him.

Here is a quote from the Lost Dogs, a book written by Jim Gorant.  A book that documents the truth from the beginning to the end of the case against Michael Vick.  After reading it you will realize the real victims and the true hero's were the dogs and those who rescued them.

As [the little red dog] lay on the ground fighting for air, Quanis Phillips grabbed its front legs and Michael Vick grabbed its hind legs. They swung the dog over their head like a jump rope then slammed it to the ground. The first impact didn't kill it. So Phillips and Vick slammed it again. The two men kept at it, alternating back and forth, pounding the creature against the ground, until at last, the little red dog was dead.

Michael Vick is the epitome of Humanity's Shame

The Lost Dogs

When It All Began

As I stated in my introduction post I stated this blog began as an assignment.

 When thinking about what topic to blog about I decided to choose something I was knowledgeable about, something that meant a great deal to me.   It was not long until I realized that animal abuse is both an issue I am passionate about and and issue that others need to be made aware of its severity.

What better place than a blog.

I have always been compassionate where animals concerned.  I was raised being taught that animals are living creatures and they too deserve a level of respect.   I grew with that respect deepening.  If I had to choose an animal that would be my favorite, I guess I would have to say it is the dog.   Do not get me wrong I love all animals and have had many different ones throughout the years, but the dog, had a special place for me in my heart.

As I reached adulthood, I was more aware and even more perplexed at the way people felt about their pets.  People often thought of, and still think about their pets as property more than family. There is also  those who feel their pets are expendable once they got "bored" with them.   Sadly many people who have done this have the perception that because their dog is a good dog it will be adopted quickly. Sadly that is the exception and not the norm.   In reality their dog has a better chance of being put down than being adopted.

That factor alone is why I will always adopt my pets from shelters and rescues.

My passion for this cause has evolved in recent years.   The cases of animal abuse seem to be increasing and those who commit the crimes seem to find ways of not having to be accountable for those actions.

It is in my opinion,  that when our pets are looked at as property, especially in the eyes of the law, that is what exacerbates the situation.  When they begin to be looked at as family members, it is then we can begin to change the perception that people have.

Just a Dog

I have often been ridiculed because of my desire to help animals in need.   "What is the big deal" is what I often hear.  "It is just a dog" is their rationale to the abuse these animals must endure.

Animal abuse has been condoned for so long and pets have been looked upon as property.  This should not the case.

When a family makes the decision that they want a pet it should be because they want that pet as a family member.   These animals are not meant to be lawn ornaments who are chained and left outside. Nor are they disposable to be abused, tossed aside or left in the shelter because they just do not want the dog anymore.

These are living breathing creatures who have feelings and feel pain.  These are animals who want to be loved and love right back.  They do not judge you because of your weight, race or religion, and they do not care about your political preference.  They love you for you unconditionally plain and simple.

But somewhere along the line people have seemed to lose sight of that.   From professional football players who commit the most horrific crimes against these animals to the disgruntled spouse who feels murdering their family pet is a productive way to win an argument is sadly becoming more prevalent.

Thank goodness for the animal rescue community who fervently work together to rescue these animals and fight for laws that are starting to hold those who commit the crimes accountable for their actions instead of having animal abuse be looked at like a petty crime.  Yet any animal advocate will tell you it is not them who rescue these animals, it is the animals that rescue them.

In short Humanity's Shame is the human holding the leash not the animal on the other end of it.

Taken from Google Images

Introduction

This blog was created as a class project for school.  I soon realized it is not just a school project for me.  This is a passion.   Every day I pick up the paper, or I read a story on line about how someone intentionally inflicts pain on their pet or disposes of them like refuse for no good reason.   I have become a voice for these animals and most affectionally the pit bull.   They have no voice and therefore I have become one for them.   They need someone to speak for them and protect them from Humanity's Shame.