by I had a horrible horrible night last night because I unwisely read about a recent case of animal cruelty in New York that was so depraved I have a hard time accepting that the girl involved is human. I am sorry for whatever might have happened to her that turned her into the monster she is, but other people get screwed over by life and they don’t respond by torturing helpless kittens in a way to inflict as much pain, fear and suffering as possible. (Although I guess she must have been born limited to a certain extent, in intelligence and other resources that might have helped her overcome her circumstances as others have.)
I’m a bit of a wreck and someone on Echo suggested contributing to the Animal Legal Defense Fund, and while I can only give a small amount that is is what I am going do. I think it’s all I can do to work towards making sure things like this happen less.
But they also provide another way to donate that I think is smart. If you buy flowers from Organic Bouquet they contribute 5-10% of the purchase to the Animal Legal Defense Fund. I love this option because from time to time I need to buy flowers for people, so as long as I’m buying flowers anyway I can buy them here and continue to help these poor animals. And the arrangements are gorgeous.
Maybe another way to respond is to join the Big Sister program and help some other kid so she can try to be the best person she can be, enjoying life instead of adding misery to the world. Except my limitations include being completely flummoxed by children! I don’t have much experience in that area. I feel shy around children!
It’s that double edged sword… What makes us such compassionate animal caretakers is the same quality that makes us suffer so when we hear of those who are not.
Sorry you had such a bad night, but glad you are the kind of person who gets disturbed by such things.
Thanks for alerting us to the Animal Defense Fund. (Also thanks for your understanding of the veterans’ situation enumerated down the page.)
I think I know what article set you off, and if we’re on the same page, it was truly a shocking and horrible event. One simply does not understand people with these strange drives that result in animal cruelty.
You might be interested to know that there was just about a 5 state sweep of dog fighting rings. I used to live in a county where there was a lot of this.
When you look on the Internet you find the strangest kind of sentiment surrounding dog fighting. For example, to paraphrase one woman in respect to her pit bull who had been killed in the ring, she something to the effect of “Oh, Big Red, your fighting spirit inspired all of us because of your tremendous heart and your indomitable courage…”
This was all about some woman who intentionally placed her pit bull in a dog fight that resulted in this poor animal being torn to shreds and dying on the spot.
This dog fighting thing is actually part of organized crime and not simply some good ol’ boys in rural areas who are missing a gene or something.
At the dog fighting rings, concealed on private property and usually in a rural area, there is also prostitution, drug dealing, and of course illegal gambling.
At various times the mafia has had a piece of some of this action. Truly cruel and tragic.
Oh god. That woman. It’s like the girl who owned the kitten, the story that freaked me out before: how does one become such a damaged and horrible human being??
Now I am haunted by that poor dog too. It just needed someone to love it and take care of it, not put it into rings to fight for its life and ultimately lose. Oh god.