Animal cruelty

“LONDON (Reuters) - Cruelty to animals is rising fast in Britain's "affluent, throwaway society," the RSPCA said in a report on Wednesday.
Among the worst incidents were the discovery of a dog's decaying body chained to a radiator, a cat kicked to death for having muddy paws and 316 rats crammed into just eight cages.
As many as 137,245 alleged acts of cruelty to animals were committed in 2007, a 12 percent rise on the previous year, according to the annual report by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
"These animals are the helpless victims of our affluent, throwaway society," said Tim Wass, chief officer of the RSPCA Inspectorate.
"They're bought on a whim and discarded when the novelty wears off. Today's must-have item quickly turns into tomorrows cast-off.
"Worse still, some animals are violently abused because they don't meet their owners’ unrealistic expectations -- like the dog strangled with its lead for misbehaving."
Amid the grim statistics, many pets are now enjoying new lives in good homes after the RSPCA intervened, including a dog so thin rescuers were unable to identify its breed and a Staffordshire Bull Terrier whose owners had cut its ears off.
Wass said the cruelty figures might have been worse had it not been for the introduction of the Animal Welfare Act in 2007, which allows the charity to intervene more quickly when there are cruelty concerns.
"Even in these early days, the benefits of the new law are clear," said Wass. "Without the new Act, this year's cruelty figures could have been even more horrific."
The RPSCA was particularly concerned by the 34 percent rise (1,917 people) in convictions for cruelty to dogs in 2007 as well as 13 percent increase (119) in convictions for cruelty to horses.
"Dogs have always borne the brunt of cruelty -- from violent outbursts to extreme neglect," said Wass.
"But that's what makes this year's horrendous 34 percent increase even more shocking: it's a massive increase on an already high figure."
British courts also issued 861 banning orders during 2007, preventing people from keeping animals in future if they had been convicted of cruelty.”

I read this story today and it made me feel sick. I hope it does you too. Not that I particularly go out of my way to shock on my blog, but animal cruelty is horrific and is often linked to, or part of, cruelty to humans as well (inc. things like domestic violence and child abuse).

I watched Send in the Dogs on ITV (I think) last night. It’s a series following police dogs. There are some officers that are not only dog handlers, but who have been specially trained to identify dogs regardless of how mixed breed they might be.

They pulled over one young man who had what looked like a soppy Lab cross and which they claimed had pit bull in him. My partner was a bit surprised but I thought it was fairly obvious in the muzzle area and the shape of his head that he was terrier crossed. More sinister perhaps – and not immediately obvious – was the amount of scars on his muzzle, ears, head and neck. This was or had been a fighting animal. The young man said he was upset that his dog was being taken away. Personally I thought he should have been slightly more upset at the violence and cruelty he was perpetrating and the anxiety and pain he was causing his animal, but I’m an old fashioned sort…

When we were looking to adopt another dog we checked out lots of websites such as Mayhew, RSPCA, Battersea, Dogs Trust etc., and we came across some truly awful stories. Stories that made you cry and your stomach twist. I think prison is too good for some of these people...

Pluto and Bess were abused and neglected but remarkably they were the lucky ones - and so were we. There are so many that don't make it, or do, but then never get rehomed...

Dolly 2

In four days I’ve been made redundant, had a car crash, gone to Cardiff, seen Dolly Parton, been to Battersea to get another dog and had a biopsy. Oh, and we went to Asda. S’all go!

I picked up my friend J on Friday afternoon so we could drive to the concert in Cardiff and while stationary at lights a car went into the back of us. I went postal. I got out the car and yelled what the fuck have you done?! Not helpful but as I’m sure you can appreciate, I was a little vexed. Anyway, we pulled over and remarkably and I do mean remarkably, there appeared to not be a scratch on Maddy (our car!), the boot closed fine and subsequently when we left, she drove fine. Not a scratch. Thank god I didn’t have my handbrake on and was first in line to pull off when the lights changed; so when the car impacted we rolled forward and then I applied my brake. However, I am going to have the car checked over for any damage my inexperienced eye cannot detect. I have since had a sore upper back and neck and a headache as well, but here’s the thing – I am a bit stressed at the moment so I don’t know whether these symptoms are as a result of the accident or as a result of a tension headache because I did have a headache before the accident and my shoulders do get very sore as a result.

Anyway, the rest of the journey was uneventful and we arrived safe and sound. The hotel was lovely! Very posh. We had a deluxe twin room and spent a few minutes freshening up before heading out. We ended up at the Kings Cross (ironic really) a gay pub where we ate and had the first of many drinks! Cardiff was crawling with Dollyites and there was a rash of pink Stetsons and tour t-shirts. The concert was at the International Arena and after food we headed over feeling very excited!

The concert was amazing. Absolutely amazing. It was without exception, the best concert I have ever been to and it felt a privilege to be in the audience. She did monologues between songs and was incredibly funny and warm and she had us in the palm of her hand.

Her voice was stunning. She has lost no power with age – in fact her voice is as supple and strong as it has ever been. She did some old favourites like 9 to 5 and Jolene and also material from her new album Backwoods Barbie. She also did an acappella version of Little Sparrow and I cried because truly it was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard. When she tours again, we’ll be there. I resent the ever increasing ticket prices of concerts and it really puts me off, but I don’t care what she charges next time, my partner and I will definitely go. To think I grew up listening and loving her music and for some reason assumed I’d never be lucky enough to see her live. Just goes to show you!

After the concert we headed back to the bar and got very merry and then headed back to the hotel bar and got merrier still! Other than some idiot smoking where s/he shouldn’t and setting off the fire alarms, we slept very well that night.

I got home Saturday afternoon feeling happy and tired and went to a bar-b-q in the evening but by 9.30 I was practically asleep so we headed back home.

We had discussed getting another dog and then by serendipity, we found Bess. Bess is between 5 and 7 and a Staffie/Mastiff mix. She had been kept in a small concrete yard and been used as a breeding machine. She was got rid of and rescued by Battersea and now lives with a fosterer (who is a fantastic woman) because she became very depressed in kennels. We all met for the first time yesterday and fell in love! She’s a quiet and very gentle lady that would just like a home to call her own and lots of love. We’re setting up a play date at Epping Forest next week so Bess and Pluto can meet and then hopefully we’ll go forward with the adoption. The family is growing!

Finally, this morning, I had to have another biopsy on the lump in my neck. (You can’t actually see it just in case you feel compelled to stare… although as I think I’ve said before it would make a change from people staring at my breasts…)

I find the whole thing painful and stressful and unfortunately we discovered this morning, that the lump has grown. I will get the test results in a couple of weeks but in the meantime I have to meet a surgeon in case it needs to be removed. Bit of a bummer but nothing I can do.

So for once I don’t feel pathetic when I say, I’d just like a day in bed please!

(The pictures perhaps don’t need explaining but one is of Bess and one is of Dolly! I didn’t know how to use my partner’s camera and so took lousy pics at the concert, but this one is at least recognisable.)