We wrote about Milo yesterday and about how he recovered from such terrible abuse that he lost a leg as a result. His case is extreme, but sadly it’s certainly not the only one of its kind. Animal abuse is a heartbreaking problem across the globe – heinous acts of barbarism committed against innocent and largely helpless creatures. As human beings and the caretakers of this planet, it’s our responsibility treat animals fairly and with compassion. So if you see a pet in an abusive situation, you don’t have to be just an impartial observer.
Animal cruelty/abuse laws are becoming more prevalent in many places as we, as a people, come to realize that it’s not ok to treat our animals like unfeeling objects. If you are witness to an act of animal cruelty, the first thing to realize is that to become involved personally is probably not going to be legal. There are people whose job it is to handle cases of animal cruelty, so let them handle it. There’s nothing stopping you from calling animal control or the local police if you see the neighbor beating his dog, for example, but leave it to the police to dispense any punishment/enforcement.
It helps when you report a case of animal abuse to have all the details you can, so be sure to document what you’ve seen. Videos or pictures of the incident can also go a long way to bringing the perpetrator to justice. No one expects you to be a superman/superwoman and bring every abusive pet owner to justice personally, but you can certainly help a defenseless pet out of a bad situation by contacting the appropriate authorities.
