Animals: More Human Than Humans

What can we say about pets? They are warm, loving, always there wanting our affection; simply put to love and be loved. For many animals small animals especially, it is a simple life they are able to lead in homes where they are welcomed and treated as one of the family. In a perfect world this would be the scenario that all pets would have going for each and every one of them. Unfortunately this is not a perfect world and the reality is there are many pets that are beaten, abused, and treated downright inhumanely by owners who choose to take their issues out on an innocent animal who can not fight back. For these unfortunate lost pets they are truly more human than the humans whose care they live under.
We see this kind of behaviour wherever we turn it’s sad to say; walking down the street the echoing sounds of a person screaming at their pet that quickly turns to violence and the painful cries of the innocent animal haunt our thoughts as we are forced to let it be. There are the advertisements from the SPCA or organizations similar in nature that show beaten, bruised, and scarred lost pets who have been rescued from the cruel habitat they were raised in; their eyes being in such broken pain that are begging for a home that will be humane for them, a home where they can be loved. It breaks our hearts seeing this kind of pain in these innocent animals knowing that the cause is because of a human, a human who by all regards is fully capable of exerting dominance over his/her pet with no regard for the deep pain he/she is actually causing. What’s worse is many of these cruel owners disregard that they are even doing anything wrong when in actuality beating down a pet morally and what should be legally, is as wrong as domestic violence towards a spouse or a child.
Now many people will argue that animals may not be as innocent as they appear to be arguing for example, a dog’s bite can be as dangerous as a human’s fist. While there is truth that a dog bite can be painful and possibly infectious, most dogs if treated right, will only lash out and bite in a defensive mechanism such as if they can’t see or sense someone sneaking up on their backside. Studies have shown that animals who are treated respectfully and with the care that would be shown to a child in return are very calm, very welcoming in return and as such are not violent by nature. To say then that a dog’s ability to bite out at a person justifies violently attacking the dog in return is ludicrous; by nature pets are to be loving and gentle provided they are not treated intolerably. It may be a cliche but the old rule ‘treat others how you would like to be treated’ is more valid than in just social scenarios with fellow people.
Animals have rights that are as valid as humans and to those that choose to disregard them, there should be punishable laws set against them. Children that are rescued from abusive families can lead to punishable imprisonment for their abuser(s); thus for pets, there should be no difference. Abuse is abuse whether to an innocent child or an innocent pet; domestic abuse is a punishable crime and should be enforced by those championing animal rights. Adjustments to the laws need to be made to help save more animals from being caught between a rock and a hard place in being homeless strays or victims of abuse. We as humans have humanity inside us for a reason and must use that inherent goodness to stand up for those who can not stand up for themselves.
Now sometimes people can go too far in their protests; a recent example is the PETA member from the States who came to Canada and slammed a pie in the face of one of our Members of Parliament. Granted for those of us who hate all politicians for THEIR inherent greed, sense of entitlement, and corrupt nature the sight of one of them being slammed with a pie so hard it could nearly break her nose is hilarious; but that very act of violence simple as it may be, hypocritically goes against what the member of PETA was trying to stand up against. Being a champion of animal rights and fighting against cruelty to animals does not give you the right to leave your country, come to another country, and assault a member of that country’s government to make your point. Peaceful protests, rallies; these can make the point and can gather the attention needed to spread the message. Ultimately that is the main goal of all of these fights for animals, for all good causes; to spread the message, build awareness to help incite change in others.
We all see this cruelty to animals on a regular basis; it is heartbreaking and tugs at the heartstrings to stand up for these innocent animals who can not fight for themselves. Done properly, progress can be made to help offset those who wish to do harm to a pet who simply wants to be loved in a quiet home. We all have our voices and can help decrease these horrific crimes; don’t let these lost animals be forgotten in the wind. They need our help and by simply being aware, we can help make a change for the better.