You’ve probably heard the names Bundy, Dahmer, Gacy; all the names of notorious assassins and what do they all have in common? They started out as animal abusers. What about the names; Kip Kinkle and Luke Woodham or Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold? Not as well known except in some circles and in the minds and memories of their victims and families. These two pairs of names belong to teenagers who went on killing sprees, the second pair being the infamous Columbine High School killers. What do they all have in common? They all tortured and killed animals, sometimes bragging to their friends. Now what about the names; Dasha Lombard, James Manzanares and Nicholas Stogdon? Probably not, unless you live in Alamogordo, MN and know them or were paying attention to the news late spring of this year, 2007. They are three ‘kids’, ages 15, 14 and 13, at the time , who found a wandering puppy and decided to have a little fun. They closed the dog’s muzzle with packing tape, stabbed her with a knife and screwdriver, and proceeded to throw a 40-pound block of concrete at her. When asked about it, the response was: “he was just a fucking dog!” These ‘children’ were completely unaffected by the torture they inflicted on this innocent and defenseless animal.
And this was not the first brush with the law for any of them. These three teenagers are not new to their antisocial behavior. Lombard was charged with having a deadly weapon on school property, charged with criminal damage to property when she allegedly spray-painted an elementary school playground, previous charges include shoplifting and resisting, evading and obstructing an officer, as well such as numerous incidents of trouble at school. , usually involving verbally abusive teachers. Manzanares’ priors include shoplifting (including an incident in which she was with co-defendant Stogdon), disorderly conduct, shoplifting, receiving stolen property and breaking and entering. Stogdon was charged several times with larceny; twice for assault on a household member; for fleeing; and for theft.
There was a case in Macon, GA earlier this year where three children, two 14-year-olds and a 13-year-old boy, burned two dogs to death. Before this they had been in trouble with the law and after their arrests, but while in the custody of their parents, they proceeded to commit other crimes. Each of these children was sentenced to 60 days in detention. That’s it, only 60 days of detention!
Then we have one of the last to add to this list of horrors of ‘children’ against animals. A 5-month-old Chihuahua mix, Tobey, was stolen from his own yard in Guadalupe County, Texas by three ‘kids.’ Boys ages 12, 14 and 16 took this puppy to an abandoned house and proceeded to throw the puppy out of a second story window multiple times until breaking its hind legs, hung it from a tree by those mangled and broken legs, he struck him with a nail-studded board, set him on fire, and finally lopped off his head. The boys were arrested at the scene and when questioned, they showed no remorse for the torture they inflicted on this little pup. At most, these three boys will stay in a juvenile detention center until they are nineteen years old.
These are just a few of the many, many incidences that exist and these are only juvenile cases. You can bet that in the future you will hear about some of them again. Their names and faces will grace the front pages and be the headline news on the news and their crimes will not only be against animals but against people.
Every day I hear stories of animal abusers receiving such lenient sentences that people who find out are shocked and outraged;
Charles J. Friel III, 22, of Allen Street in Philadelphia beat up a dog in his care and left it chained to a tree with fractured skull and ribs to suffer and die a horrible death last year and was sentenced to probation.
John W. Meyer, 41, of Shotkoski Drive in Hoffman Estates, IL, killed a puppy for urinating on the carpet. He threw a 7-month-old, 4-pound, 14-foot Chihuahua across the room against a wall and then slapped the little dog so hard he broke its leg, all in front of two children, and was sentenced to probation.
Marlene S. Diaz, 24, of Cooper Street in Manchester, Connecticut, had a tiny Chihuahua locked up in the basement for so long and in such appalling conditions that when the dog found it after an anonymous tip from a Connecticut Natural employee Gas, she weighed about a third of what she should have weighed. She was nothing more than a skin-covered skeleton and a veterinarian had no choice but to euthanize the dog due to the severity of her condition. Diaz was sentenced to probation.
Maryanne Adams of Greenwood Lake, NY starved a dog to death. A beautiful St. Bernard husky mix that she adopted from the Humane Society was left in the yard, no food, no water, freezing cold, to die a horrible death. And her award, community service! Warwick Town Judge Daniel Coleman didn’t even care enough to give him probation, let alone an actual sentence!
These are just a few cases where criminals were actually identified and convicted. They are all a matter of public record. But what about all the cases of animal cruelty and abuse where no one is ever identified? The monsters out there still walk the streets free to inflict their atrocities on other animals or fight their way onto human victims.
Laws that target animal abusers are too often too lenient, too vague, or not enforced. There are still 7 states that don’t even have felony provisions for cruelty to animals; Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Mississippi, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Utah. There are still two states that do not have felony provisions for dogfighting; Idaho and Wyoming.
These are not opinions, they are facts! And it is also a fact that there is a strong and indisputable correlation between animal abuse and interpersonal violence. This is one of the biggest reasons why animal abusers must be dealt with harshly, not just for the cruelties inflicted on innocent and defenseless animals, which is certainly bad enough, but for the cruelties that many of these abusers will go on to follow. inflicting human victims.
Isn’t it about time our judicial system and legislators started taking animal abuse seriously? It’s time to stand up and speak for those who don’t have the voice to speak for themselves! It’s time to demand justice for the innocent victims!
Will you sit back and, like so many people, just ignore it because you think it doesn’t involve you or will you stand up and take action? Don’t wait until it’s too late and your beloved pet or perhaps your child, spouse, parent or family member is affected. Write, call, email and fax your legislators and demand change. Isn’t it time to get serious about animal abuse?