Saturday, October 3, 2015

Animal Cruelty Has to Stop and I Aim To Do My Part To Do So. How About You?

Animals at peace with one another. Why can't we be nice to them?

I love animals. Anyone and everyone that knows me knows that. I can’t stand those that harm or want to harm animals, or anyone that stands by and lets someone harm an animal. Why is there so much animal cruelty? There’s no need for it. Is there something missing in a person’s life, or were they bullied when they were a child that someone feels a need to inflict harm upon an animal? Every week I must sign at least fifty petitions to get justice for an animal, rescue an animal from a shelter, rescue an animal from being euthanized for no good reason, et al. I could go on with petitions, but you get the idea. Every day I read stories from around the globe about animal cruelty. The stories are endless and just when I thought I heard the worst story possible, another one comes along that is even worse.

 
 

     Why would anyone want to bury a senior, arthritic dog alive? Good question. There was no reason for it, yet someone did just that in a Paris park. Fortunately, someone came along and rescued the loving dog. Why would someone steal a wheelchair from a disabled, stray dog in Peru? Good question. Now, the poor dog is shown on the video dragging itself around because his back legs don’t work. Who took the video of this helpless dog and didn’t give it a home? The heartless person that stole its wheelchair? I remember the dog named Excalibur from Spain. Remember the big Ebola scare we had a year or so ago? The Spanish nurse came down with Ebola from tending to a Spanish priest and the government decided her dog was a threat and put it down. Murdered it out of fear without even testing the poor animal. How about the millions of animals that are euthanized every day simply because there are too many of them. Or how about the other thousands of animals that are bred for nor reason except for chemical testing and cruel experiments? They never experience love or kindness. They’ll never see the sun or feel the grass beneath their feet. 

I'll never forget Ugly.

       There are so many stories and they all touch me, yet the worst one I’ve heard to date was about a disabled cat that lived near an apartment complex and was nicknamed “Ugly” by the people that lived in the complex. The people hated this “ugly” little cat that had a front deformed paw from people slamming doors on him. Children threw rocks at him and other adults sprayed it with a hose, but “Ugly” never gave up. This little homeless cat just wanted love, but no one in that building would give him any. He’d walk up to children and push his head into their hands but he was ignored or had rocks thrown at him. He was desperate for love. One day, Ugly wandered into a neighbor’s yard and was mauled by two dogs. An apartment dweller heard the screams and went down to rescue Ugly, but it was too late. Too much damage had been done, but the dweller picked up Ugly anyway and held him. Even in his last moments of life, obviously in sheer pain and misery, Ugly tried to suckle on this human’s ear. He even purred before dying in this human’s arms. All Ugly ever wanted was love, yet all he ever met was hate. What caused the people in this apartment to hate an innocent, harmless and homeless animal so much that they would purposefully inflict harm upon him? He obviously had once lived there or he wouldn’t have hanged around. Why hang around a place where everyone hates you and hurts you? Why didn’t anyone take this cat in? I would have. If I was there, I would have adopted this cat. I’ve adopted fourteen animals to date with five of them being homeless stray cats from off the streets. This story still makes me cry. There was no need for this cat to endure so much hate.
 
     Animal cruelty is rampant from the large metropolitan cities to the small rural towns. Where I live in Mississippi, it is all too common for people to toss animals at dumpsters, which sadly isn’t just a Mississippi thing. That is how I acquired my last two kittens. Myra and Pepper were just three weeks old when some rotten women dumped them and a sibling at a dumpster when they were just three weeks old. Another woman came by and took one of the kittens and left the others behind. A colleague witnessed this and not wanting to leave the two helpless girls outside, took them in. She couldn’t keep them and that is when I stepped in and adopted them. At eleven months old now, they’re thriving. Myra, the black kitten sits next to my laptop as I write this post. Now they are safe with their older dog brother, older dog sister and older cat sister. All are rescues.
 
     Animal cruelty doesn’t have to happen. You and I can stop it. All we have to do is speak up. Don’t turn your head when you see a homeless animal. Don’t turn away when you see someone harming an animal. Animal cruelty must stop, but it is up to you and me to do it. When you see cruelty, call the police, the sheriff, the state trooper, the Humane Society, whatever, but please be a voice for the animals. They can’t speak but we humans can and must. We certainly speak up when we’re offended. How about speaking up for a cause that really matters. I’m one for the animals. Are you?


    
For more information on ways to help animals or to read more about some sad and happy animal stories, please check out these links: 
 
Report cases of animal abuse and dogfighting to your local law enforcement, but don't be afraid to go higher if need be: 
      www.aspca.org
 
 
A click a day at this site helps rescue and feed shelter animals. They also sell some cool animal clothes and gear:  
 
This is the story of Ugly the abused stray cat that no one took in. Read only if you have a strong constitution:
Everyone Was Warned Not To Touch This Cat, But This Guy Did. This Is Heartbreaking: http://beingcreativ.com/everyone-was-warned-not-to-touch-this-cat-but-this-guy-did-this-is-heartbreaking/ 
This Pit Bull Went From Likely Euthanasia To Napping With Her Best Cat Friend:
 
Mother Dog too Hurt to take care of puppies. Animal agency steps in to help:
Prosecutors: Woman fatally beat family dog, bragged about it:


Some of my favorite animal blogs:
      www.thedodo.com 
      www.pawmygosh.com 

 
        Until next time….hug your animals. Tell them you love them. If you don’t have a pet, adopt one. Make adoption your first option when seeking a pet. Adopt. Don’t shop. Can’t adopt. Please consider fostering one. The animal will have the taste of home and the shelter will cover the expenses. Can’t foster? Make a donation or volunteer at your local shelter. Please, don’t hunt. Unless you’re starving down in a ditch somewhere, there is no logical reason to do so. Whatever you do, however you do it, please be a voice for the animals large and small. All it takes is one to make a difference, good or bad. I’m one for the animals. Are you? Thanks for visiting. Stay safe. Be strong. Be happy. Smile. Show compassion. Be nice to one another. Pass it onward.

    Regards,
    S.J. Francis
    In Shattered Lies: "It's All About Family."  Coming Oct 24th from Black Opal Books.
                          “Some secrets should remain that way.”
 

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And now for some legal stuff: Copyright 2015 by S.J. Francis. Opinions expressed here are solely those of the author, S. J. Francis and are meant to entertain, inform and enlighten, and intend to offend no one.