Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Cruella DeVil Lives

URANUS IN PISCES
Pisces, sign of secrets and self-delusions, plays host to Uranus, the planet of originality and eccentricity. What an odd combination, especially to sit in the 8th House, the house of regeneration and death. We'll see some interesting changes that apply behind the scenes. Secrets are being formed that will affect the odd sensitivities of the people around us if they're let out.

As per the May Blogathon, tomorrow, I will be exchanging guests posts with one of the other wonderful Blogathoners, Sara Lancaster, who writes a blog called No. 2 Pen. I hope everyone will be excited to hear what she has to say and stop by her blog to learn more!

In less positive news, I read this in the NY Metro today:
Jail time for hurt dog
A Queens woman was given 30 days in jail after she pleaded guilty to animal cruelty. Sonia Perez, 21, shoved her hurt poodle into a bag and threw it into a garbage can. The dog, which had broken ribs, died a day later.

WTF?!

There are so many things wrong with this blurb that I don't even know where to begin. Let's start with the fact that the dog was hurt in the first place. Do I really want to know why? With the rest of the information as circumstantial indicators, one can only imagine what was done to the dog to break his/her ribs. And then, to throw the dog into a bag?! What...how...why...I can't even begin to wrap my mind around that line of thinking. A dog isn't trash. It's not like it was a free gift with purchase that you just didn't want. How long did this dog live with this woman before this? And, oh, don't kill the dog before you throw it in the trash can. As cruel as that sounds, it would have at least been moderately merciful compared to what actually occurred. The dog is already in pain, and one's first thought is, "Oh, I should bag this and toss it with the other garbage. But no, let's keep it alive so that it suffers to full extent."

This incenses me. I have always had a soft spot for animals (Moon-in-Pisces). In fact, when I see movies, if there's an animal in danger, I end up worrying more about the animal than the humans involved. Probably because I know the humans can take care of themselves or at least have a modicum of understanding regarding the situation they've found themselves in. The animals are usually blameless and left to fend for themselves in circumstances created by the people around them.

This poor dog was already injured and left to die by what I can only consider his/her human companion. Had this been a human who Ms. Perez treated this way, the sentence would be far greater. Of course, the laws are highly protective of people; more so than they are of animals, and I can hardly dispute that. Still, life is life, is it not? And treating life as contemptuously as was done in this instance deserves a punishment of stronger caliber than 30 days in jail. This was a murder. To make it easier on us readers, the Metro writer was kind enough to refer to the dog as an "it." Margaret Atwood explores this phenomenon:

I'll take care of it, Luke said. And because he said it instead of her, I knew he meant kill. That is what you have to do before you kill, I thought. You have to create an it, where none was before. You do that first, in your head, and then you make it real. So that's how they do it, I thought. (The Handmaid's Tale)

Animals have souls and hearts and minds just as we do. As living creatures, we should have a better respect such things. I understand that death must occur so that more life can come forth. I know that even the simple process of eating brings about death in some form, be it animal or plant. These are necessary deaths.

The death of this dog was not.

I came across a few sites for those who want to learn more about animal cruelty and what's being done to stop it: the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: ASPCA, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Intentional: SPCA, Humane Society of the United States: HSUS, the Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad: SPANA.

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