On January 24th, 2011 a gut-wrenching article came across my local news in Utica, New York. The night of January 23rd into the early morning of January 24th (which was when temperatures reached -20 degrees) a 3 year old pit bull was left outside by his owner, and found tied to the corner of a table. This pit bull, who is making a miraculous recovery, was named “Apollo” by the Steven Swan Human Society. When a civilian made the call to the local police department around 5:30am, the attending officer stated that he found that dog curled up behind the table he was tied to. The officer also said that the dog’s paws and legs were all burnt from the frostbite. Upon further examination, the dog was also found to have other signs of abuse. In this area, the only charge that the owner could acquire is an animal cruelty charge.
This story has touched the hearts of many people living in areas surrounding Utica, New York, including touching the heart of Utica Mayor David Roefaro. After Apollo’s sad story, Utica Mayor David Roefaro has asked the State of New York to update the laws against those who harm and abuse animals. David Roefaro wrote a letter to New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo asking the current animal abuse charges to be changed from misdemeanors to felonies.
In my opinion, if a person decides to take on an animal, they should assume all responsibilities. An animal is not like a human; they cannot explain verbally what is wrong with them.
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ReplyDeleteAfter reading the article that you have posted, I felt pity for the dog that had been left out in the cold. In another way, the incident also reflects some of the social problems we are having right now. Some people are ruthless and cruel enough to abuse animals as an outlet of their anger. I agree with your opinion that “if a person decides to take on an animal, they should assume all responsibilities.” They should take care of them in a proper way that will not harm the animals. I think that people who abuse animals should be fined or punished by the laws in order to change or refine their behaviors. It’s necessary to proceed that because the act of abusing animals proves the person has a mental tendency to be violent enough to hurt whatever that’s get in their way. These people lack self control and are mentally unhealthy that they use animal as a tool to make them feel good about themselves. Animals have no language and they cannot express themselves; but that should not be the reason for us to hurt them in any way. Their lives should be respected by humans since they are part of the world and many animals actually contribute much in a person life. Many dogs and cats are great company when people are alone, help relieve their stress and anxiety. If we keep being indifferent to the issue, animal abusers will actually become harsher on their animals.
ReplyDelete--Jiaxin Lu