Buffalo Dave

I am not the type of person who likes to stick my nose into social issues like this for the sake of argument, but the animal cruelty issues this week put me over the edge.  I am an animal lover too.  We have a pet kitty that I love.  We have had dogs in the past.  In fact I can assure you that I have had more pets in my lifetime than 99% of western New Yorkers.  Having said that, here is where I think Tom was way off base.

You can’t automatically expect, presume or assume that everyone else loves animals as much as you do, nor is it any of your damn business whether they do or not.  As far as the lady goes with the horses that were portrayed as being so badly abused, the horses did not look badly abused to me.  They are farm animals after all.  They grew up sleeping in horseshit.  They grew up smelling horseshit their whole lives.  They are used to horseshit being stuck to their bodies.  I can assure you that if the horses could speak and you asked them about the horse manure, they would tell you that it really is no big deal.  In fact, not only is it not a big deal, they probably aren’t even aware of the fact that there is shit stuck to them.

Ask any kid who grew up on a dairy farm in the country about the smell of cow shit and how much it bothers them.  They will tell you that you get used to it and it is no big deal.  It is part of life growing up on a dairy farm.  Horses getting shit stuck to them and having to sleep in their own feces is part of growing up a horse.  I am sorry if you think that is abusive, but I think it is pretty normal to a horse.  I think a judge with any common sense whatsoever would also agree, especially any judge with experience in farming.

Another fact to consider is that older people also have a different outlook than we of a younger generation do.  I can’t help but think of when I was a kid.  Farmers would not hesitate to get a gun and put a 12 gauge slug into the vitals of a stray dog that was running loose on their property.  That includes little old church going grandmothers.  They would also not hesitate to kill them even though it was probably someone’s beloved pet.  (In case you can’t tell, I grew up in the country)  This was part of life.  Dogs were not to be trusted.   Nobody ever got reprimanded for it.  You knew that if your dog went and visited the neighbors farm, there was a really good chance it wasn’t coming back.  Those old farmers would exceptionally good marksmen.

When we had a pet dog growing up, that dog spent its entire life sleeping in a dog house outside.  So did grandma’s dogs.  That dog was loved and cared for, but it was never treated as well as one of us kids, nor do I think it ever should have been.  We would turn it loose and play with it outside on nice days, but living in that doghouse was its reality.  After all, it was a dog.  Isn’t that why they invented the dog house?  What did the dog eat?  It ate table scraps and dog food.  After all, it was a dog.

The point I am trying to make here is that I think reasonable people put all pets below humans on their priority scale.  Some people will put them at the very bottom of that scale.  Some will put them higher above most other things in terms of their importance in the grand scale of life.  I love animals too, but I obviously put them much farther down the scale of importance than you obviously do.  When I see a dead animal, I feel sorrow for the pet owner, but very little for the pet itself.  I don’t like to see an animal suffer but I would euthanize one before I would pay a $1000 vet bill.  That is right.  I put $1000 above the value of a pet’s life.  Call me cold hearted.  I call it being a practical person who has his priorities right.  I could care less if your animal’s value is $1 or $10,000,000.  That is your call.    Just don’t expect me to put the same value as you do.  That is my judgment to make, not yours.

People have different perspectives and priorities that we need to consider and respect.  This lady who was arrested for animal cruelty was in tears over the death of her dogs.  Was it a stupid thing to do?  Yes, of course it was.  Should she have been arrested for it?  I hardly think so.  In my mind that is obvious abuse of power over a citizen who caused no harm to another citizen.  Was it irresponsible?  Yes, without a doubt.  I think that those tears on her face were penalty enough as far as I am concerned.  How would you like it if you got arrested for every irresponsible thing you have done in your life?  Yea, I thought so.  You probably have done far worse things than neglect your pets in your lifetime, and you got away with it.  Yeah.  How about your early drinking years when you got behind the wheel after a couple too many beers?  I bet you did that more than once or twice.  How about that first time you smoked that doobie with your buddies?  Yeah, how would that look having a permanent police record for something like that?  This lady is balling her eyes out because she knows the death of her dogs is her own fault.  Leave her be.  She will not repeat this mistake.  The laws in this country and this state are out of hand and you seemingly innocent people who think you are doing everyone a favor are really adding to the problem.

It is Friday and I heard Tom say on his show that he doesn’t claim to be an angel.  Really Tom?  Sounds to me like you are talking out of both sides of your mouth. 

Tom, I like your apparent stance on political issues which I happen to agree with almost entirely.  But, sticking your nose into these people’s business like this just because animals are not as high of priority in their lives could not be any more liberal.  Your whole stance on this issues screams that you are a raging liberal on this issue.  You lost major wisdom points in my book pal.  You call yourself a Tea Partier?  Really?  How about you let people live their lives their way and butt the hell out if it doesn’t affect you.   Isn’t that what this tea party movement is all about.   You claim to want the government out of our lives and yet you support stiff laws against people who neglect a friggin dog?

I am so infuriated by this issue that I am seriously considering stopping all future contributions to the SPCA.  I thought we were helping out a good organization.  After seeing them stick their noses into matters like these farther than I think any person has a right to, I have to reconsider my previously undying support for their organization.  Maybe that money isn’t supporting the kinds of things I thought it was. 

It is great that you love animals.  It is great that you do what you can to help abandoned animals.  However, it is completely irresponsible for you to stick your nose into these people’s lives in the way that you have with the horse lady and this lady with the dead dogs.  It was wrong of you to make the accusations and assumptions that you have without considering the obvious fact that these people have the human right to set their own priorities in life when it comes to how much they care about the animals they own.  Stop assuming we all should and that we all ought to treat animals as well as we treat our brethren. 

I encourage you all to travel out into the country and take a damn good look around a real farm.  (You know, the places where that packaged food in the supermarket comes from.)  How about a little common friggin sense on this issue?  If you really loved animals that much Tom, I can assure you that you would be a vegetarian.  Go visit a slaughterhouse for Christ’s sake.   How could you possibly take the stance on these issues that you have and not be completely appalled at what goes on every single day in the life cycle of every single farm animal.  Come back to reality, would you please?  Animals are animals and should be treated as such.  It is sad when they are mistreated.  People should be encouraged not to mistreat them.  But, that is as far as it should go.  They are animals after all.

From everything I know about the horse issue, I am glad to see the horses were returned to their owner.  That is the common sense thing to do whether you nosy do-gooders like it or not.  I applaud the judge for standing for liberty.