Animals Matter.

 I was thoroughly disgusted this weekend when I read an excerpt from South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem's upcoming book where she talked about putting down a 14-month-old puppy. Noem was apparently upset at it because it wouldn't be a good hunting dog, so she put it down. The dog could have been surrendered to a shelter or given to another family as a pet, but instead, she chose cruelty.

This is a sore subject for me because I've always believed in being kind to animals (and to all living beings, for that matter). I grew up with a black lab, a goldfish, a pair of rabbits, and dozens of cats living in the country in Central Minnesota. Having animals around regularly taught me a lot about caring and compassion for others. 

It made me think back to when we rescued a cat that had wandered into our garage. The poor thing had its legs and tail duct taped to its torso by a cruel farm kid. We coaxed the scared feline cat out from under one of the cars and my dad carefully cut the tape from its body. The black cat (which we later named Schwarz, which means "black" in German) ran away for a bit but soon came back and was a faithful family pet for many years.

I've always been more of a cat person than a dog person (mainly because of the sheer number of cats that we had in my youth and because cats are typically more self-reliant), but I usually make time for other people's pets whenever I visit them. Most animals are pretty tame. I remember a few times when stray cats and cats that belonged to other neighbors would come to visit out of the blue and find their way to me asking for attention. I didn't mind that at all.

I understand having to put an animal down if it's sick or injured. We had to put one of our cats down after it had been hit by a car. One of its ribs had punctured its skin and we knew that it didn't have long to live. The feline was breathing poorly and could barely move on its own. It wasn't an easy decision, but a necessary one to put it out of its misery, unfortunately. She left behind a new litter of kittens, which with the local veterinarian's advice we learned how to take care of. They grew up to be very happy, healthy cats. However, this situation is quite different than that.

I just can't see cruelty as something that would make me like the particular person who was cruel. I know that Noem's trying to appeal to the MAGA base, but it's not surprisingly turned a lot of conservatives against her. She tried to justify the horrific act by explaining that she also put down a goat that same day and that she's also had to put horses down from time to time, but it seems like she just keeps making things worse for herself with every explanation that she tries to make. 

It's very interesting that both Republicans and Democrats are actually agreeing on this issue. Animal cruelty never has been and never will be acceptable. Now if we could just get them to agree on other important aspects...

Well, that's all for now. Until next time, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.