What Is Worth Fighting For? Dozens of puppies were found either dead or dying on man’s small property in Shallowater, Texas. Inside the house, the few living dogs were found eating other dogs just to stay alive, and carcasses were scattered all across the area. A sheriff announced that the feces was said to be “ankle deep” in certain parts of the house. The owner was later arrested and charged with only two misdemeanors. I believe we the people could prevent these kind of acts from happening so often. No matter how gruesome of an act it is, animal abuse is only a Class A misdemeanor unless the offender has two prior convictions. Although as of September 1, 2001, people who committed acts of cruelty or the torture of animals can receive worse punishments. The maximum sentence would be tried as a felony with up to $10,000 in fines and or two years in jail. In Houston today, we have Houston SPCA Cruelty Investigators which receive over 8,500 calls per year about animal abuse, neglect, and cruelty. These six investigators are extremely committed and take their job very seriously, no matter what the cost. The SPCA also works nationwide with law enforcement officials and other humane organizations for aid in certain cases.
Although there are many cases in which the punishment should be more harsh, there is a specific one that touched people’s hearts. A ten month old puppy was dropped off at the Operation Kindness shelter by two men that found her stranded near their apartment. The dog was terrified, sixty percent of her body was covered with burns, and she even had stab wounds in some areas. Neighbors claimed that the dog’s owner was Deshann Quatrail Brown, and a woman had said Brown was incredibly angry because he wanted his dog to mate with hers, but that his dog "would not cooperate." Witnesses explained that later that day, they saw the dog running through the neighborhood lit on fire and Brown chasing after him with a gasoline bottle in his hand. When brought into the hospital, it was obvious the dog needed multiple surgeries, so the workers decided to name her Mercy. Two days later during a plasma transfusion, Mercy died. Deshann Brown was convicted of using a deadly weapon while abusing Mercy, so he was charged with a 3rd degree felony and up to ten years in jail. Brown was one of the first cases to be charged with a felony for animal abuse. In the state of Texas, cruelty to animals means torture, failure to properly care, abandonment, confinement in a cruel manner, killing or injureing someone else’s animal, fighting animals, and using a live animal to lure dogs for races. Before September 1, 2001, anyone who committed these crimes and were found guilty would receive a Class A misdemeanor. Consisting of a fine no more than four thousand dollars, being confined in jail not exceeding one year, or both a fine and imprisonment. But since then, any person that is convicted of committing acts of cruelty or torture to animals can receive a harsher punishment. The maximum sentence would be a ten thousand dollar fine or two years in jail. Although if the person is a minor, the highest charge would be to undergo psychological counseling. In some cases, minors have done worse crimes towards the animal than adults. For instance, in Pasadena, Texas, an eleven year old boy tied a rope around a cat’s neck and strangled it just because his friend made him mad. Another incident was caused by a twelve year old and thirteen year old boy. While finding a little puppy, they shoved it into a plastic bag and beat it with sticks. Not all the times do people hurt their own animals, many people love and care for their pet’s lives, but someone else might hurt them. An example, there was once a family who had an old dog that had been with them for years, but one day they woke up to him stabbed to death by a stranger. Flo Buchmuller of the El Paso Humane Society has said, “It is a show of power of the batterer. He/she might be threatening the family by saying, ‘I am going to hurt the pet.’…” (Pet). Should animal abusers have the privilege to own another animal? In some cases, the court gives custody of the animal back to the person. On February 1, 2006, a local CPS worker in Kirbyville, Texas, found a home with over one hundred and nineteen neglected animals. Chambers, the CPS worker said, “It was a very sickening sight in the house, there are dead animals in these houses” (Pet). The living animals were sent to Houston to get checked, and from there the judge would decide if the owner got to keep any of the remaining animals. When I heard about this story, I thought that the owner should never be able to own another animal for the rest of their life, yet a judge might give back the animals he abused before. Should this be able to happen? Some people think it is harder for animals when they are abused because they cannot defend themselves. If this is true, why shouldn’t you help to make things better and easier for them? Any person, child and adult, can help out just by getting involved with local humane societies. Why not help, what bad would happen from doing good?