When Carmen lost her hair ...

A tale of rejection

THIS is Carmen's story: "I was taken away from my mummy as a baby but was quickly adopted by a new family. Perhaps, I was too trusting but I believed that if I gave my love, that was enough.

"Just after my first birthday, I started getting a rash that the doctor said might be genetic. I never complained, trusting that my family would help me through it.

"Little did I realise they had already decided that I was too much of a burden.

"One day, they bundled me into the car. I thought we were going for a nice walk but instead they stopped near a deep canal and threw me in. I cried and cried but they just walked away.

"I spent my days in fear and hunger. There was no day or night, only darkness. My only companions were the rats hovering nearby, waiting for me to die. With no food and only sewage water to sustain me, I thought it was only a matter of time …"

It makes your blood boil to read it, doesn't it?

Now, here's the catch: Carmen is a dog. She was found by an Action for Singapore Dogs volunteer starving and completely bald. It took five long months of caring before she could be restored to the beautiful Boxer she once was.

If she were human, we would have had communities baying for blood and authorities scouring the country to bring her adopted family to justice.

But seeing as she is "only" an animal, hers would just be yet another sad story of abuse and neglect.

It is not the first and it definitely will not be the last.

"Don't be such a bleeding-heart animal-rights activist," some people say when I start telling them stories like Carmen's. "They're only animals. Shouldn't you be more concerned about humans?"

Why should I? Humans have lots of people fighting for them already and they can speak up for themselves; animals cannot.

Research has shown that the true mark of civilisation is how we treat lesser beings.

The more gracious a society is, the more it is likely to look after animals. Carmen was thrown into a drain where many people passed by but did not bother doing anything.

I wonder what that says about us as a society?

A few years ago, I went on holiday abroad. The first day was wonderful, with great service, good food … and friendly stray dogs that were the delight of all the guests.

The next day, four grim men strode towards the dogs. The dogs trustingly came forward expecting the usual pats.

Instead, they had their necks placed in a cruel noose and dragged, whining and choking, across the lawn, in full sight of all the hotel guests.

I burst into tears. The woman beside me lost her appetite. The hotel explained that they got rid of the dogs "so that you could have a better stay".

We all checked out the next day, appalled that our comfort came at such a cost.

Animal abuse has dark repercussions on the human world, too. When the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) examined the lives of serial and sexual killers, cruelty to animals regularly appeared in their childhoods.

Mr Robert Ressler, who has spent 16 years with the FBI's Behavioural Science Unit, noted: "The torturing and kill-ing of animals would be a rehearsal for what was to come later in life."

Mass murderer Jeffrey Dahmer, for instance, used to cut up animals, stick their heads on sticks and show them to other children.

An Australian Institute of Criminology study released last month found that three out of 11 Australian serial killers abused animals first before moving on to people.

A study by Northeastern University found that 70 per cent of animal abusers had at least one other criminal record and 40 per cent had committed violent crimes against people.

So should we not be worried there are so many serial cat killers in Singapore? Every few months, we hear of cats being tortured or killed here. In 2006, more than 20 cats were found dead in the western part of the island, strangled with shoelaces, heads smashed in or throats burned.

The case is still unsolved. Maybe the killer has reformed or maybe he has just moved on to other — bigger — things.

You see, it is not so bleeding heart to be concerned about animal abuse. We humans have vested interest in catching and punishing the abusers — unless you fancy meeting in a dark alley a cat killer who has decided to try humans for a change?

Tabitha Wang would love to adopt Carmen but can't fit her into an HDB flat. If you can, call Action for Singapore Dogs at 9259 0698 or email info@asdsingapore.com.

-- taken from http://www.todayonline.com/ , Tabitha Wang

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Saw this headline on Today Newspaper n it immediately caught my eyes for obvious reason (hahahahaahha!!!). After reading further into it, well, agree with me or nt, i somehow shared the same sentiments with the writer; maybe its a better choice to spend more time n effort on animals rather than human beings.

these helpless little beings r innocent naive n too trusting of their owners n ppl ard us, in this world n age, how can we ever find a grown up adult who can b so pure n innocent? Humans r complicated, selfish (everyone is, 1 way or another) and evil (admit it, we r all corrupted by all the so-called life experience we've been thru).

Even if u tot they r the most trusting person u can ever find on this face of earth, but who noes, he/she might jus turn his/her back n walk away from u 1 day, leaving u in the slumps. But dogs wont do tat to u, they remain loyal, trusting and ever so forgiving when u do make mistakes. moreover, they r really helpless when u wan to do evil things to them.

Maybe i'm juz beginning to think, as time passes n society advices, ppl become more "educated" & "experienced", we will all gradually become 连狗都不如.

Feel free to rebutt me or anything, i love debates on human issues. haha..