Most serial killers get their start killing and torturing animals, Mason.
My dog is a better friend to me than some people, and I have started to think of him almost as a child. Therefore, I have the same reaction to the thought of anyone hurting him as I do to the thought of someone hurting one of my kids - someone had better be prepared to come and get me from jail, 'cause that's where I'd be if I caught up with the mofo who did it.
At our last base, an Airman had a litter of AmStaff pups. He not only separated them from their mother when they were 4 weeks old, but he clipped their ears with a pair of kitchen shears. I cannot imagine the noise those poor things made...it must have been a horrendous experience for them. By the time the ASPCA got around to going out to pay him a visit, he'd got rid of the pups and their momma. So, no charges were brought against him. That made me even madder. However, karma did it's thing, and he got into a bar fight, got prosecuted, sent to jail, and kicked out of the military. THAT made me very happy.
I'd still have preferred that someone clipped HIS ears with a pair of dull and rusty garden shears, but I'll take what I can get.
I think that we as a society need to start getting tougher on people who abuse and/or neglect animals. Seems like a lot of people are getting away with murder.