Well, Gentle Readers, I was thinking the other day what I might do if I ever ran out of things to write about concerning animal welfare issues (dance in the streets, came to mind…). Sad to say, I don’t see that happening anytime soon.
The latest news to hit the airways concerns a young woman, Akron Petland employee Elizabeth Carlisle, who is “accused” of drowning two rabbits in the store, posing for pictures with the drenched, dead animals, and (if that was not enough!), Carlisle then posted the pictures on her Facebook page with a big smile on her face! I find myself wanting to ask, “Was she born this way, or did they have to PUMP AIR into her brain?!” However, that is not the most important question here.
In my younger days (and yes, I CAN remember them!) the most horrific thing was a boy’s habit of pulling wings off flies. And that was sickening even then! Now we have young people (not kids, but young ADULTS) who seem to think that putting a kitten in an oven to get even with a boyfriend, or drowning two rabbits who might not be feeling well, is “ acceptable behavior” for an employee of a business devoted to supplying people with supplies for their pets. The fact that this young woman saw it as something to literally “brag about” on her facebook page sickens me – and she’s really stupid to think that someone would not turn her in after she publicized what she did.
When I think about all the people who donate hundreds of VOLUNTEER hours to all the pet stores across the country to help find GOOD homes for all sorts of animals (mainly cats and dogs, but I’ve seen rabbits, hamsters, etc.), I find myself wondering what they think about a story like this. And if they consider throwing up their hands in disgust and giving up. Probably not, because they come from their hearts in wanting good homes for these creatures large and small with people who will find out how much love and joy there can be in such a small package.
My continual horror was reading about a former employee who is speaking out and saying the same practice of killing “ sickly animals” has been done before at the Youngstown-area Petland. Probably why, whoever this person is that has the courage to speak up, they are a FORMER employee! I can only hope that anyone else in the pet store industry have the same courage…right after they give notice and get the hell out of the store.
It makes me question what kind of raising these young people got when they were children. Did they have parents who failed to teach them any sort of reverence for life? Or is our society reaching a point where that is not even an issue anymore? Soldiers are taught that killing “an enemy” is not like killing another human, movies and TV shows thrive on blood and guts story lines – and now it has filtered down to children who see nothing wrong with killing anything – even each other. As Ghandi was quoted many years ago: “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
Well, Gentle Readers, our “greatness” is definitely in question at this point in time. Please consider taking a few minutes to go to Care2.com and sign the petition there Punish Elizabeth Carlisle to the Full Extent of the Law – The Petition Site today. And then share it with everyone you know and ask them to do the same. Maybe, just maybe, we can turn this sort of situation around… one signature at a time.
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