The Brutality of It All!!

Abandoned, neglected, torn up, barely alive. These words painted sickening pictures worse than I could ever have imagined. So, I clicked. I had to see. Click after horrifying click led me to the visual proof of the  horrifying brutality inflicted upon pets, large or small, young or old. The internet was alive with the visceral proof of the cruelty of innocent creatures who were eventually led to their happy endings.

It was my first introduction to the 'postings' of animals in dire distress, well over a year ago. There was the video clip of a very old dog hoping for love, care and a home before he died. His intentions were clear to those who found him, barely alive, 'living' in his own waste, on the city streets. He was old, suffering from multiple scars, oozing pus, with eyes almost shut. He wanted love and a home before he died. For a few days he had what he had wished for. ...They laid him to rest in a special spot where this symbol of unconditional love would be close by. As I watched more of these quick snapshots of dogs, in hell, the tears rolled down. 

 

Tiggy, my loathe-to-be-held cat, approached me, while balancing herself on the window sill, next to my work station, extended her front paw to console me. She sensed something was amiss. But she understood. She had been one of them, long, long ago. I told her it was impossible to save them all, I know, but why did it have to happen, in the first place? Why, indeed.

As long as there are inequities in life, there will innocents who pay the price with their life, I knew. ... The video clips continued. There was the damaged pet carrier, on the side of the highway, that grabbed the attention of two bikers. ... The emaciated little black dog emerged from its coffin-like box, anxious to breathe, see sunlight and perhaps find food. The contents of its portable decomposing home, strewn about inside with the animal's own waste, was slowly becoming its tomb. No one had bothered to check this mysterious box until these two wonderful men stopped to look. No one had bothered to bother!! But here they were, these caring adult male curiosity seekers, suddenly taking an interest in something they had seen by the side of the road. ...

The little dog was free, at last, happy to be released from its solitary prison to find two someones who cared. There was no food, no water. This little dog's tiny emaciated frame, with protruding ribs, was a painful reminder of its history of abuse. He licked the hands of his rescuers, ever so grateful for the morsels of food  and water they gave him. They took the adult 'pup' home. A bath was given when it was discovered why the little guy had been stumbling, in such great pain, unable to walk, as dogs generally do. Its claws had grown unchecked and were now deeply embedded within its painful, swollen paws, another act of torture complete. (A jagged, misshapen opening, on the top of the 'pet carrier', told a horrific tale of its attempts to escape its coffin.) ... Off to the vet he went, his well being and safety now assured by these two caring men. ... The video continued, showing a remarkable recovery, several months later. He was now a happy little 'boy' with a new family. ... Then there was the abuse of a 'crippled' white dog found living in a garbage dump - his home. He'd managed to crawl there, perhaps, to escape the inhumanity of its life. His patchy skin devoid of fur in places, resplendent of lacerations, lesions, open sores with pus and blood oozing all about, was more than I could bear. He was gently escorted out of this horrible place of death, by those who found him, and months later, transformed into another beauty. I shed more happy tears. ...

With his foot aimed high towards his target the adult motioned the young child to move more quickly as the boy stepped out of the car. Unbeknownst to them, however, the breeder was watching this 'couple', fixated on the troubling event unfolding before her through the closed laced curtains on the front door window. She'd been standing there, anxiously awaiting this gentleman's arrival, she told us. He had phoned, desperate to buy a puppy. Selling the last of her litter was paramount, now, before she moved. But not today, she realized, in short order, after witnessing the sidewalk maltreatment of an innocent.  

 

As the man approached the house, the breeder opened the door, denying his request for a puppy, explaining why. ... If treating his own child with such contempt, in public, with unknown witnesses watching, was O.K., then what hope did a non-verbal, innocent, 'demanding' little perfect newborn puppy have behind closed doors, she thought? None at all! None at all!

The Momsey was never a 'cat person' until that fateful day, when I found our abandoned tiny kitten, with a barely discernible body temperature, dying, while screaming, by the side of the road. It was -25 degree celsius that early winter's morning, 12 years ago. ... It was barbarism on an unfathomable scale. ... (I have written about her, my special cat, the love in my life, many times.) Hers is an instructive life, full of incredible insights for me. ... How does anyone arrive at the cold-blooded decision to inflict pain and suffering on an innocent creature? Most condemned to death are, generally, those very young or very old or deemed an 'inconvenience'. Having written about our experiences in rescuing 2 dogs and one cat, I cannot fathom any decision that sanctions abandonment, abuse or torture. We took those abandoned animals into our hearts and home because to do otherwise was totally unconscionable. For a short time, we were homeless, too. Whatever our situation, abandoning our pets was never a solution. They were family, too!

Modern society is a high-tech bustling place, an unforgiving and indifferent one, at times, with schedules that defy reason. We walk, drive and live with distraction. It is a choice we make. Our personal devices rule us. In business, at the gym, in the home and on the street we walk without missing a beat of 'screen' time.

The internet and all of its tributaries are incredible tools of life that both help and hinder society. It is incomprehensible to me how any animal becomes a target for intentional abuse. What rules had he broken? None, of course. He was simply born. And what does that say about us?