Salon.com > animal welfare

Her fiancé beat up the dog

Wed, 08 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Dear Cary,

I recently visited my best friend from college -- we had not seen each other in three years and have been talking over Skype on a weekly basis until now. She is getting married on Friday to a monster I had the great displeasure of meeting this last week. On the first morning I was with her at her house, I noticed her 1-year-old dog had a problem with her eye, ear and back. I asked what happened and she responded, "I'm not going to lie, my fiancé beat the shit out of her."

I was in shock. I didn't know what to say to her until later in the afternoon when I said I was very concerned for her safety. She shrugged me off and said he has never been bad to her, he is very stressed at work, and then said, "That's what battered women say, right?" When the violence occurred, she was not home -- when she came home and found her dog blinded on one side and more than likely bleeding internally, she did not take her to the vet. Instead, she told her fiancé that if he ever hit the dog again, she would be gone. She has been afraid to seek help for the dog, who is obviously suffering.

How much is a cat worth?

Tue, 07 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Hi Cary,

I love your column, and I have a problem. Actually, my best friend has a problem and it's about his cat.

My friend lives on a disability pension, so has no extra cash for luxuries. His cat, less than 5 years old, is getting tumors under the skin. So far this year, my friend and his roommate have spent about $2,800 for two separate operations for the cat.

In my mind, this is crazy, but I don't know what to say to my friend that will help him see clearly the hopelessness of this situation and the madness of going into crazy debt for the sake of a year or two of life for a cat.

Don't get me wrong, I love this cat, but if he were mine, I would have him live until he was no longer comfortable, then have him put down.

What would you say to me or my friend?

Thanks,

Jim

Dear Jim,

Activists claim 27 animals died during making of “The Hobbit”

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 16:17:00 +0000

Animal wranglers on the New Zealand set of "The Hobbit" trilogy have spoken out about the deaths of 27 animals, who died "largely because they were kept at a farm filled with bluffs, sinkholes and other 'death traps,'" the AP reports.

Although no animals were harmed during actual filming, the wranglers and the American Humane Association argue that the conditions at the Wellington farm they were housed in were dangerous:

The Associated Press spoke to four wranglers who said the farm near Wellington was unsuitable for horses because it was peppered with bluffs, sinkholes and broken-down fencing. They said they repeatedly raised concerns about the farm with their superiors and the production company, owned by Warner Bros., but it continued to be used. They say they want their story aired publicly now to prevent similar deaths in the future.

One wrangler said that over time he buried three horses, as well as about six goats, six sheep and a dozen chickens. The wranglers say two more horses suffered severe injuries but survived.

Although Matt Dravitzky, a spokesman for the movie, said that some of the deaths were of natural causes, he conceded that the deaths of two horses could have been avoided. "We do know those deaths were avoidable and we took steps to make sure it didn't happen again," he said.

What was Seamus thinking?

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 15:00:00 +0000

If Seamus could only know he'd influence a presidential election by voiding his bowels during that 12-hour, 1983 trip to Canada in a crate strapped to the roof of the Romney family station wagon, what would he think?

The Romney family Irish Setter entered political lore in 2007, when the Boston Globe coolly recounted his ordeal to highlight Mitt Romney’s response (pulling over at a gas station and hosing down car and dog), illustrating the candidate’s unemotional, logical problem-solving. And it was irresistible man-bites-dog stuff. Gail Collins’ legendary references to the incident totaled more than 75 as of Saturday. David Letterman had a field day. The Animal Legal Defense Fund created an infographic that documents all the animal welfare laws Romney appeared to break during the road trip. A major polling firm studied the public reaction to Romney over the incident (not good). Devo recorded a song.