American Playwright Elmer Rice once said "If nature had intended our skeletons to be visible it would have put them on the outside of our bodies."
This quote does not have to refer only to humans. And, indeed, it seems in my mind to refer more to animals. In one day, I have read three articles of cats being deliberately starved to death, left in homes ON PURPOSE to die slow and agonizing deaths.
All of these posts are from Florida. I'm sure it's coincidence, since this sort of terrible cruelty happens here in Connecticut as well as everywhere else (remember the British woman who no longer wanted her cats so she just stopped feeding them?). But, in reading news from all over the country on pet care and attitudes towards animals, I noticed a trend of news articles on starving cats in Florida and of horses in Texas.
The moral of the following news stories is that none of these cats had to suffer. There is ALWAYS another way, a way to prevent the cruelty. Read on:
JUPITER, FL: January 5, 2012 (Thursday). Virginia Louise Robison is facing three counts of causing cruel death and suffering to an animal, and three counts of unlawful confinement and abandonment of an animal [source].
Robison simply did not feed her cats! Her house was in deplorable condition, and when authorities arrived, they found one emaciated cat near death, two that had already starved to death (according to a necropsy performed), and the skeletal remains of more cats buried under the debris in her home. Back in November, a search of her home revealed 18 cats living in deplorable conditions and in various states of emaciation.
KENNETH CITY, FL: Debra Costello left four cats to starve to death and with no way out of the house. They relieved themselves inside the house for nearly two months. [source]. According to reports, Costello lost her house and "didn't know what to do with the cats" so she left them in a closed home where they were not found until 2 months later. These cats somehow survived, but their medical conditions were so bad they didn't know if they would ever be adoptable.
Completely unnecessay. Darlene Esposito of SPCA Tampa Bay says "You don't have to do that to your animals-call us and we'll come and pick them up."
Costello faces a slap on the wrist for her crime.
PALM BEACH COUNTY, FL: Allison Dinsmore, a middle school teacher, left her two cats deliberately and allowed them to die horrible deaths. [source] Her excuse? She was "too busy" to feed them, was away on a camping trip and had a long commute to work every day.
What???
The worst part about this horrific case? She got off scott-free. She was found "Not guilty" by a jury of 6 (obviously non-cat lovers). She was relieved of her job, but that is far from fair justice for starving two cats to death.
According to the Palm Beach Post, prosecutors should have pursued misdemeanor charges, but instead tried for felony. Apparently, according to the courts in Palm Beach County, letting two innocent animals die horrible deaths just because you were out on a camping trip with your boyfriend is not a felony.
In my opinion, it's murder.
Apparently, her lawyer was confident of the outcome. "There was no intentional crime," he stated. He also stated the woman feared for her life from an ex she thought was a threat to her, so she was living elsewhere.
No intentional crime?? Even if she felt her life was in danger and had to leave the apartment, Dinsmore KNEW she had two cats. She KNEW they were trapped in the apartment. She KNEW no one was feeding them. She KNEW they were starving. She could easily have alerted the authorities or her apartment manager (who found the dead cats after receiving no rent). Or call the ASPCA.
In another heartless statement, her lawyer claims, "This is an incident where a girl leaves her apartment and the animals perish. The area represented danger to her. This wasn't some party girl that had some kind of addiction that was running around. She was working with special needs children, showing up diligently to work. But she was in over her head in an abusive situation and that's why she stayed away."
And this means she couldn't have alerted someone to the cat's situation?? I am sorry, Mr. Lawyer, there is NO excuse for what she did, unless she was dead or in a coma, and even then someone (a family member or friend) should always know the cats are there and be alerted to check on them in an emergency.
A friend of hers said she loved her cats. Excuse me?! A caring person who loves something, anything, does not do this. You don't have to be a huge cat lover, but if you have cats as pets and you care about them even slightly, you talk about them, you might have a picture or two of them on your phone that you show people, when someone mentions a cat, you mention yours, etc. Others in her life knew she had cats. If I had known her and known her situation, I would have asked who is caring for the cats? No one asked, no one cared? And she never gave a second thought to the fact that those cats were alone in her apartment with no one to feed them?
After she was acquitted, Dinsdale and her friends got together and had a celebration, toasting to her freedom! That action alone speaks volumes about this woman's cruel and uncaring nature towards animals.
This is only three of many stories just like this! And it's sickening. There's NO excuse except severe illness or death for not making sure cats are checked on, fed and cared for! In an extreme emergency, the ASPCA or other animal organizations can be alerted to the situation so they can get the cats out!
If you ever find yourself in a rough patch and you have pets at home, DON'T DO NOTHING!!
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