I heard a terrible thing on our local news last night. Three teen-age boys were caught beating animals to death. I don’t know any other particulars but they were showing a goat on TV. I would assume animals small enough to beat on without being large enough to retaliate.

I know I harp on the plight of mistreated animals a lot so you know what’s coming. You may stop here or go on. We are required to treat our animals with dignity, food, water and safe surroundings. This isn’t the ASPA or any other organization. It’s from the Bible. Again, if you don’t want to hear about the Bible….stop here.

We will be judged for the way we treat our animals. We will be judged for the way we work for our employer and how we treat those who may work for us. None of this is hard to understand and for those of you who are not concerned about what the Bible says, you may be part of the problem, as they say.

In our Southern part of the State there have been a lot of cattle rustling. There is always an isolated case of such but with the economy like it is there have been more frequent reports. And this isn’t the only sad state of affairs for animal cruelty. A large plant has been built to slaughter horses just a few miles up the road. Canada and Mexico are big buyers and so the poor equines who have been stranded on farm property with AWOL owners end up for slaughter. They have been starved and in terrible shape and their reward for clinging to life is the slaughter industry.

It doesn’t make me mad, it just makes me terribly sad. I believe in the dignity of animals. I treat mine with respect. I know they aren’t people and don’t think like people. They are cats, a dog and a peacock. As we don’t always understand how to live correctly for God, they, likewise, don’t always know how to react to what we expect of them.

I’m not a tree-hugger nor am I one who throws paint on someone wearing a fur coat. I just have a love for animals. Because of that I have tried to save any stray who comes hungry and scared to my door. If you’ve ever been alone, hungry and scared you know the feeling and the fear.

May God grant that some day man will realize animals are a creation and give so much back to the ones of us who care about them. In the world to come I know this will be the way it is…………….

Essentially Esther