Last fall there was a brutal killing of an animal over here, and I’m going to tell you about it because it needs to be told. The animal was our family cat, which was murdered, trapped in a mink trap and shot 15 times, then thrown out on our road for us to find. The murderers were not arrested. The old man and son pounded them, and were arrested. The murderers continued to run loose, wreaking havoc at will.
Something wrong here?
There are two major issues to be discussed here and they are (1) the matter of the murdered cat and (2) the manner of the law’s response.
First, I’ll deal with the cat. This cat had been a dearly loved family pet for 14 years. The grandkids had him since they were one and two years old. As anyone who has a pet knows, a pet is a member of the family, as dear as any child. Natural death of a pet is bad enough. Outright, malicious, willful murder of a pet is horrifying.
In light of this cruel and deadly treatment of an animal, I felt the animal rights people would want to get right on it. No such thing! I called the humane society, the Animal Rescue League and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Their response was, “there’s nothing we can do” – contact the state Animal Welfare Office. I called there and was told I would have to speak with the director. I called her, several times, left messages (she was never in the office when I called) and got no response. Nothing they can do either, I guess.
Something wrong here?
A noteworthy law has been passed by 41 states, making it a felony to willfully kill a companion animal. A case in Staunton, Virginia, (recently publicized in People magazine) where a man willfully killed a pet dog may bring the killer a maximum prison term of five years, and a maximum fine of $2,500. That sounds fine and dandy to me! If Maine has such a law, it is not being enforced. If Maine does not have such a law, then it should.
Secondly, I’ll deal with the manner of the law’s response, the “law” being the Knox County Sheriff’s Department.
The law knew that our cat was murdered and they knew who did it since the perpetrators bragged about it all over town. The cat killer is a convicted felon, not supposed to have alcohol, drugs or guns. He admitted to the law that he shot our cat, and he was drunk at the time. The law could not find the gun and “didn’t have any evidence.” A mutilated, bullet-ridden dead cat ought to be evidence enough! The law’s attitude was, “there’s nothing we can do.”
The cat murderer got barely a slap on the wrist by the law. Apparently it’s OK to go around killing people’s pets. Well, it’s not OK with us. If someone murders your pet, you have to wonder what’s next. Our dog? One of us? In self-defense, the old man and son went after the cat murderer. You can guess what happened next. They were arrested. The cat-murdering felon became the “victim” and we, the victims of the atrocity, became “felons.”
Something wrong here?
Yes, there’s something wrong here. The victims of atrocities are treated as criminals by the law when they defend themselves. Criminals get away with murder. “Nothing we can do” from the law and the state is not what taxpayers pay for.
Will these wrongs be made right? I doubt it. Somebody will have to do something. I don’t know who that would be; do you?
– Rusty Warren
Vinalhaven