How to Stop Animal Cruelty

It happens everyday. Faced with being unable to take care of their pets any longer, seemingly normal people do something unthinkable cruel. They abandon their pets to fend for themselves. I know this from first hand experience, having worked with several animal rescue organizations, and at times the results of this cruelty are so horrid as to make one shiver at the thought of people doing such a thing. I have rescued kittens in plastic bags, puppies on highways, and all manner of other animals who's only sin was to be loved to little.

So what can be done? I would say the first step is to have your pets spayed and neutered. This alone can stop the proliferation of unwanted, and unloved animals left to roam an unkind world. This is only the least you can do however. In every city of every state in the United States exist shelters and organizations for the rescue of abandoned animals, check on No Kill shelters and rescue groups in your area and see if you can get involved. The third thing a caring person should do is reject in all it's forms apathy. If you witness animal abuse, turn the offender in. If you see a car dump an animal get the liscence plate. It is almost everywhere against the law to be cruel to animals, in some places it can even secure jail time.

I remember several of my own experiences as a rescue volunteer, this one happened before my very eyes. I was doing inspections along a river north of a major city that I live near, It was november and the river was ice cold. I remember hearing a small splash and the sound of screeching tires above me along a bridge I was standing near. Then I heard the panicked mewing. Looking into the river I saw a plastic grocery bag slowly sinking into the water, and as I watched my heart jumped into my throat as I saw bag "jump". Looking back on it what I did next was foolish, but stripping off my shirt and shoes I jumped into the river and managed to get to the bag before it sank out of view. Inside was a kitten not more than four weeks old, she was blue around the gums from cold and I thought I was too late to save her.