| Commentary and Philosophy Non-Fiction posted October 12, 2023 |
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Ho it should be handled
Animal Abandonment
by prettybluebirds
Write A Rant Contest Winner
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There is nothing I despise more than riffraff who abandon animals. I would love to take these low-life forms of humanity miles from anywhere and dump them like they do cats and dogs, preferably in the winter, so they can experience what it feels like to be hungry and cold with no hope of rescue. And to find out what it is like to die slowly from starvation or cold, which is what most abandoned animals do if they don't get eaten by coyotes or run over by a passing motorist first. Sometimes, the animals get lucky when a kind soul comes to their rescue, but that doesn't happen often. Some manage to survive on their own for a while, but most of them, especially puppies and kittens, die terrible deaths.
My husband and I had a dairy farm on an isolated stretch of road, and those dregs of humanity I mentioned must have considered it the perfect place to discard unwanted dogs and cats. Mostly cats. If I found the animals in time, I would nurse them back to health, vaccinate them, have them spayed or neutered, and try to find caring homes. Those were the fortunate ones.
One frigid November morning, I woke up to a distressing sight. A gray cat was sitting in the middle of the road in front of our house, and I wondered why she chose to stay there in grave danger when she could have gone into one of our barns. When I got to her, I discovered the reason. Three tiny kittens were nestled against their mother for warmth. A short way down the road, I found three more kittens squashed like pancakes in the mud. It appeared that the gray cat had been a pet because she wore a collar and was unafraid of me. I still remember her look of bewilderment, like she couldn't understand why someone she trusted had left her in this terrible situation. The poor cat was shaking with cold and fear; it was a miracle any of them were still alive. Chances are, whoever owned the mother cat didn't want her after she had kittens, and dumping her like garbage seemed a simple solution to the problem.
Another time, I witnessed a car passing by with a white German shepherd running after it. I thought it was odd but didn't overthink it until the next day when the white shepherd returned to our house. The dog was skinny but seemed to be in good health otherwise, and I wondered why anyone would abandon such a beautiful animal. I thought that perhaps the dog was lost or stolen, so I put an ad in the paper, but no one claimed him. Even though we already had a dog, my husband and I decided to keep the white shepherd. I had the dog neutered, named him Wolfis, and he remained with us for many years. He was one of four dogs we acquired in this manner. Someone didn't want the dogs, so the loathsome wretches took an easy way of disposing of them.
I could write pages of horror stories about the suffering throw-away pets endure at the hands of despicable people who toss animals along our roads like empty beer cans. Once, I found week-old puppies tied in a plastic sack and thrown into a water-filled ditch east of our house. I was too late to save them that time.
Another time, in a remote area, I found a lovely, declawed Persian cat someone had left to starve. A declawed cat can't catch food or defend itself. I suspect she was another pet someone didn't want, or perhaps her owner died, and no one wanted to care for her. It was deplorable, but finding a new home for that beautiful cat wasn't hard. There was no reason on God's green earth why the scumbags who tossed her couldn't have done the same.
Please take a moment and imagine how upset and confused these animals must be to find themselves in an unfamiliar place, deserted by the people they trust and love. Without care, shelter, and food, abandoned animals will sooner or later become sick and die. Unneutered animals, when dumped, contribute to an already existing stray animal overpopulation, especially cats. Their offspring will be born into a life where they must fight for survival. It is a sad situation with no end in sight.
There are laws regarding animal cruelty, which include abandonment, but not nearly enough. In Michigan, animal cruelty is a misdemeanor with a maximum of ninety-three days in jail, a thousand-dollar fine, and community service of up to three hundred hours for one animal. If the violation deals with two or three animals or causes the death of an animal, a person could face up to a year in prison and a two-thousand-dollar fine, as well as community service of up to three hundred hours. Cases that involve four to ten animals are a two-year felony charge, two thousand dollars, and three hundred hours of community service. If the cruelty involves more than ten animals, it is a felony charge with up to four years in prison, five thousand dollars, and up to five hundred hours of community service.
All the above sounds good, but it seldom happens in real life. First, you must catch the sleazy perpetrators in the act, which is nigh unto impossible. Most of these vile individuals slink around in the middle of the night to accomplish their dirty deeds of ditching some unfortunate animal. Or, they choose a remote two-track road where no one is likely to observe their heinous actions. These are slimy, worthless characters with no moral sense of right and wrong. They don't deserve to sit in a warm jail with plenty of food. No, I think my way would be much better. Form a special patrol to watch for these abhorrent low lives, then after catching them, Take them to the most remote spot one can think of and dump them. No phone, no food or water, nada, nothing. Antarctica crosses my mind as a great spot to leave them. Now I feel better.
There is nothing I despise more than riffraff who abandon animals. I would love to take these low-life forms of humanity miles from anywhere and dump them like they do cats and dogs, preferably in the winter, so they can experience what it feels like to be hungry and cold with no hope of rescue. And to find out what it is like to die slowly from starvation or cold, which is what most abandoned animals do if they don't get eaten by coyotes or run over by a passing motorist first. Sometimes, the animals get lucky when a kind soul comes to their rescue, but that doesn't happen often. Some manage to survive on their own for a while, but most of them, especially puppies and kittens, die terrible deaths.
My husband and I had a dairy farm on an isolated stretch of road, and those dregs of humanity I mentioned must have considered it the perfect place to discard unwanted dogs and cats. Mostly cats. If I found the animals in time, I would nurse them back to health, vaccinate them, have them spayed or neutered, and try to find caring homes. Those were the fortunate ones.
One frigid November morning, I woke up to a distressing sight. A gray cat was sitting in the middle of the road in front of our house, and I wondered why she chose to stay there in grave danger when she could have gone into one of our barns. When I got to her, I discovered the reason. Three tiny kittens were nestled against their mother for warmth. A short way down the road, I found three more kittens squashed like pancakes in the mud. It appeared that the gray cat had been a pet because she wore a collar and was unafraid of me. I still remember her look of bewilderment, like she couldn't understand why someone she trusted had left her in this terrible situation. The poor cat was shaking with cold and fear; it was a miracle any of them were still alive. Chances are, whoever owned the mother cat didn't want her after she had kittens, and dumping her like garbage seemed a simple solution to the problem.
Another time, I witnessed a car passing by with a white German shepherd running after it. I thought it was odd but didn't overthink it until the next day when the white shepherd returned to our house. The dog was skinny but seemed to be in good health otherwise, and I wondered why anyone would abandon such a beautiful animal. I thought that perhaps the dog was lost or stolen, so I put an ad in the paper, but no one claimed him. Even though we already had a dog, my husband and I decided to keep the white shepherd. I had the dog neutered, named him Wolfis, and he remained with us for many years. He was one of four dogs we acquired in this manner. Someone didn't want the dogs, so the loathsome wretches took an easy way of disposing of them.
I could write pages of horror stories about the suffering throw-away pets endure at the hands of despicable people who toss animals along our roads like empty beer cans. Once, I found week-old puppies tied in a plastic sack and thrown into a water-filled ditch east of our house. I was too late to save them that time.
Another time, in a remote area, I found a lovely, declawed Persian cat someone had left to starve. A declawed cat can't catch food or defend itself. I suspect she was another pet someone didn't want, or perhaps her owner died, and no one wanted to care for her. It was deplorable, but finding a new home for that beautiful cat wasn't hard. There was no reason on God's green earth why the scumbags who tossed her couldn't have done the same.
Please take a moment and imagine how upset and confused these animals must be to find themselves in an unfamiliar place, deserted by the people they trust and love. Without care, shelter, and food, abandoned animals will sooner or later become sick and die. Unneutered animals, when dumped, contribute to an already existing stray animal overpopulation, especially cats. Their offspring will be born into a life where they must fight for survival. It is a sad situation with no end in sight.
There are laws regarding animal cruelty, which include abandonment, but not nearly enough. In Michigan, animal cruelty is a misdemeanor with a maximum of ninety-three days in jail, a thousand-dollar fine, and community service of up to three hundred hours for one animal. If the violation deals with two or three animals or causes the death of an animal, a person could face up to a year in prison and a two-thousand-dollar fine, as well as community service of up to three hundred hours. Cases that involve four to ten animals are a two-year felony charge, two thousand dollars, and three hundred hours of community service. If the cruelty involves more than ten animals, it is a felony charge with up to four years in prison, five thousand dollars, and up to five hundred hours of community service.
All the above sounds good, but it seldom happens in real life. First, you must catch the sleazy perpetrators in the act, which is nigh unto impossible. Most of these vile individuals slink around in the middle of the night to accomplish their dirty deeds of ditching some unfortunate animal. Or, they choose a remote two-track road where no one is likely to observe their heinous actions. These are slimy, worthless characters with no moral sense of right and wrong. They don't deserve to sit in a warm jail with plenty of food. No, I think my way would be much better. Form a special patrol to watch for these abhorrent low lives, then after catching them, Take them to the most remote spot one can think of and dump them. No phone, no food or water, nada, nothing. Antarctica crosses my mind as a great spot to leave them. Now I feel better.
Write A Rant Contest Winner |
 Recognized |
#25 October 2023 |
The cat in the picture is Sweetie, one of the cats dropped off at our farm. She still lives with me today. I tried catching the perpetrators but never got lucky.
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