Animal cruelty: Who's the animal?

Within the last 2 weeks there have been 2 local instances of animal cruelty: 1) a dog was lured by neighbors into their car. It’s on video. Also on video is their returning him home; opened the door, he comes limping and stumbling out having been shot several times.

2) Another story about two men who were shooting a caged dog. Let me repeat – the dog was in a cage while they were shooting at it.

Now I have two dogs – as many of you know: Big Guy and Little Guy also known as Bret and Pico. I think about them often. They are compliant, satisfied, adaptive. They accept their lives as well as their bodies. They are who they are, we are who we are.

Pico had a torn muscle in his leg. He didn’t whine. He walked on 3 legs. He lives inside his head. He doesn’t think about his body (well, except when he’s had a bad haircut which makes him hide under the bed). If he sees something he goes after it. He doesn’t think about his leg.

And Bret – such an active puppy. Now he’s polite, asks for things (in his English setter way of touching me with his cold nose). When we sleep, he sleeps. When we go outside he goes outside.

They both accept this as their life. Whatever I am, whomever I am, they are with me. We move as one up and down the stairs, inside and outside. If there’s a sudden noise – we all look at each other. Our eyes meet. What was that? We have thoughts we share.

My ‘guys’ aren’t things. They are creatures with brains and sensitivity. They come to be petted, they lick a hurt I might have. They cuddle.

The lurer in story 1 says he can’t wait to tell his ‘side’ of the story. How can he have a side that would explain hurting and shooting a dog after luring him into his car? How can he think he has a ‘side’ to tell?

I feel sickened by the stories. I have no sympathy for the human beings. I have anger. I need to get this off my chest.