What's Wrong with Killing Dogs?

So it's a federal crime to be mean to dogs? Who knew?

What's wrong with what Michael Vick did? I have no inclination to do what he did with dogs, but I have no comprehension of what all the fuss is about. Most people who are upset about killing dogs or letting them attack each other have at some point in their lives caught a fish, which is as extreme a form of murderous torture of an animal as I can imagine. Not only have most of them caught a fish, they have actually eaten many more of them than they've caught. Which is weirder, killing an animal or eating its dead flesh? Most of us have never eaten dog meat, but in some countries it is a delicacy. Is there something evil going on in those countries? Are they violating the natural order of things? Should we invade them or get the UN to intervene? They are killing and eating dogs for god's sake!!!

What is the moral basis -- the natural law, if you will -- that accords special respect and protection to dogs in our written laws? And how does that same natural law allow for fish being clubbed to death on boat decks if they haven't died already from the hook-in-mouth trick we so enjoy pulling on them?

Our reverence for dog life resembles our reverence for human life. Up to a point. It's okay to kill your dog if you think your dog is too sick to go on living much longer or if you just can't afford medical help for your dog. And, don't worry, no legal authority is ever going to ask you to prove that your dog was really sick enough to kill or even sick at all. If you don't have the stomach for killing your dog yourself, you contract with a dog killer -- otherwise known as a veterinarian -- to do the dirty work for you. No federal law against that yet. Our dog reverence is so shot full of loopholes that there is no describable moral order to it at all.

Americans revere horses too, but it's okay to shoot your racehorse in the head in public if it so much as breaks a leg--something I saw the first time I went to a racetrack. And it's more than okay--politicians consider it a leadership demonstration--to hunt. Shoot 'em, kill 'em, cook 'em, eat 'em is the American way for a lot of pretty birds and every four-legged animal other than dogs, cats, and horses.

Between bites at McDonald's today there will be a lot of outrage expressed about Michael Vick getting off easy. I won't understand a word of it.

Comments

[SisterAnn]

For years, our humane society drowned animals that weren't adopted out. It saved the price of putting them to sleep.

There was a public outcry when it became known and it stopped.

Everyone should find out how the animals are put down at their humane society.

A lot of people see animals as a form of a plant, but they shouldn't.

[SisterAnn]

You can add bull fighting to your list. Then there are the cows and pigs that are slaughtered every day. I lived on a farm and saw many examples of caring and feelings in those animals.

Worse than anything is boiling lobsters and turtles alive. I hear they are good, but I will never know, because I won't eat them.

Rooster or Cock fights are even worse. They add razor spurs to their feet to make the fights bloodier.

It is odd that we usually eat the gentle animals and fish, the ones who don't harm us, while ignoring lions, tigers, sharks and snakes as a food source, most of the time.

I know many fine men who hunt. I don't like it, but do think a quick killing shot is better than how most of our food is slaughtered. One after another, in front of each other.

There was no bond between Vick and those dogs, just like there is no bond between cattle and farmers and the slaughter houses.

I love dogs and cats, but also love cows, pigs and deer, but they just don't fit in my living room. Pigs are very intelligent animals and clean if given more than a muddy pig pen.

I grieve when I see cows kept with their heads in a stansion all the time so they will be tenderer meat. They never get to graze or live a life at all. Sad.

I don't think Vick should be ruined because of this. People can learn and they can change.

[baldblackman]

I don't care for dog fighting (or cock fighting), but please people stop with the "dogs show loyality" crap! Dogs are pack anomals and they are showing defference to the "top dog".
From the way people are reacting it as if Vick invented dog fighting. Like many of these non events there will be lots of anti-Vick mania but in a few months dog fighting will still be going on.

[booker52]

It's the way he killed the dogs, and what they were used for. It's also the sport itself. It's outlawed. I am pretty sure he placed and collected bets and well. We can be sure he is not going to cop to this. Gotta protect his NFL career at all costs!!!

[fraziersview]

Progressives need to remember what they are trying to build. If creating a more balanced political environment, where pragmatism and conscience coincide, or restoring a government powered (or atleast inspired) by the people is the objective then Progressives must publicly define their values. Torturing animals is not one of them. Empathy is not only core to morality, it also sets us apart as a spiecies. Can we therefore conclude that those of higher intelligence are more apt to display empathy? And if so, shouldn't we deem empathy as a sign of intellectual capabilities when choosing our
political leaders?

[VEGAN]

MURDER and RAPE is WRONG, universally.

The people who do not understand this YET... well ~ "that's just it".

[JackAwful]

Venus Fly Traps eat meat. If a damn plant can eat meat, why shouldn't I?

[jackejett]

No excuses for Michael Vick.

Anyone who defends him should never ever have a dog.

Dogs, like children, have the ultimate trust in their owners. Anyone that betrays this trust is, in a word, scum.

jack jett
www.yabbadabbahubbado.com

[LeftLeaner]

If you can't feel the outrage of the torture and abuse these animals endured at the HANDS of Mike VICIOUS and his cohorts, then I can't explain it to you.

[dartagnan]

This is what used to be known in the newspaper biz as a "steam-up column" -- something calculated to provoke a lot of outraged comments. It obviously succeeded.

[Trever99]

I agree 100% with the commentary.

In India cows are holy... we eat them... big deal.

People who say that it's wrong because it was sport.. thats hunting in a nutshell. If Vick had mounted the dogs heads and put them in his TV room.. it simply would have equated it to hunting.

I still can't for the life of me figure out hunting.. why it's cool to hide in trees or wherever... and when they see an animal come running along they fill it with lead from a high powered rifle.. and this is apparently fairly manly. Hey!.. look what I can do to an unsuspecting animal with a high powered rifle!.. that's cool man.. mount it!

But to each his own...

[ardeth]

Right on, Lawrence, except for the part about vets being "animal killers". I believe in humane euthanasia for nonhuman as well as human animals when there is no hope of a quality life. When my nine dogs and cats are too irreversibly sick to enjoy life, I'll take them to my vet to give them relief from their suffering, and I hope some compassionate doctor does the same with me when I get to that point.

Be that as it may, humans are such massive hypocrites when it comes to their schizoid treatment of animals--e.g., the ones they like to eat or wear are in one category, the ones they like to pet are in another--some animals are more equal than others, to these Big Whopper-devouring dumbies, and it doesn't make any ethical or rational sense. Amazes me that they don't recognize the obvious.

[BarnE]

I wonder if O'DDDonnnelll has a bet that he can pull 1000 comments with this dog eating post.

[JoeLosFeliz]

I've read a lot of the comments connected to this post and I'm actually surprised by how few people seem to get the point O'Donnell is making. He's not advocating the torture of dogs or any other animals - quite the opposite. He's merely pointing out what seems to be hypocrisy in many people's attitudes toward animals. Some are ok to raise on factory farms, treat horribly, etc. - as long as they or their products wind up on our dinner tables. It's totally arbitrary.

People go through life eating their boneless, skinless chicken (or the like) without for a moment thinking about where this food comes from or what kind of suffering is connected to it. But when a dog gets hurt, the world falls apart. It doesn't make any sense (apart from a psychological explanation).

[Incredulous]

America is one fucked up society! "Me, me, me! I can do whatever I want, whenever I want, and you can't stop me!" Has there ever been a more self-absorbed bunch of navel gazers, in the history of man? I don't think so. So you go right ahead and defend Vick's barbaric torture and murder of those dogs. He's an AMERICAN! He doesn't need your fucking laws! And he doesn't give a shit about people's judgment! He's an AMERICAN! He's free to kick any fucking dog he wants. And don't you forget it!

[Dalicious]

This is a very interesting debate, but it misses the essential point: plants are sacred. Every plant you kill is a sacrilege, eating them even worse. Mass murder!

So we eat meat. True, the animals we eat are forced to dine on plants, but that way we shift the culpability to animals who more easily appreciate the benefits of vegetarian bliss.

Avoid floricide. Eat meat! It is the only moral alternative.

[Crazyshirley2100]

I really don't believe the weird tangents folks go off on.
Micheal Vicks did not get caught hanging out at a dog fight. He was actively breeding dogs, doing dog fight business. That is, no matter what your beliefs in the sanctity of human or animal life illegal.
Not only does he actively engage in breeding dogs for fighting, but he kills them in sadistic ways. That is one of the big warning signs of a sociopath. If you see your neighbor abusing an animal, chances are, they are abusing humans also. I really find it a stretch to compare hunting or fishing to throwing a dog up against the wall or electrocuting it for fun. It is not that I hunt or fish, the analogy just does not hold water. Brutality is a signal. That, for me is the real issue here. Some people consider football a brutal sport, but the people who play football make the decision to play, unlike those dogs who were given no choice. I like football, but I will not watch any game Vicks is involved with ever again.
I will not be able to watch him throw a pass without thinking of his sadistic side. I will not watch him.

[InsideBrooklyn]

Once again what are we talking about? Situational ethics? One law for the lion and the ox is oppression as Wild Bill Blake said once somewhere. Might makes right is not the point. The point is that no one wants to kill cute little Rover with the floppy ears and the big brown sad eyes. These pit bulls meanwhile are bred for fighting and are horrible creatures and you can't do a whole lot with them once they are bred as such. I one time saw a pit bull on a leash, mind you, grab hold of the head of little Yorkie and almost pull it off. If I had a club I would have killed that monster myself. The owner couldn't do a thing and was screaming for help. But I digress. Back to the point. We have animals slaughtered every day to feed ourselves. It's not that "humane." Have you ever seen scenes of animals hunting? They're not very nice either. And let me ask you this? Does anyone other than the most extreme Buddhist or Sufi sect have a problem with killing a mosquito or a cockroach or a horse fly. They're animals too, But I'm meandering.

I don't know Michael Vick other than what is said about him. He's rich. He's a potent quarterback. And he probably thought he was invincible. Why? Because of those things. And like some rich people (also some poor people too) they become terribly spoiled and think that everyone and everything around them are there to serve and amuse them. They get it into their heads that they are like Roman emperors, Shahs, Czars and scummy Presidents. They think themselves entitled to deem who is to live and die. Michael Vick may need a lesson taught to him somehow someway. Perhaps he should lose his status, lose most of his money, lose certainly his power to determine life and death and he should make a full and humiliating confession and apologize. But should he go to jail? Nah. . . One law for the ox and the lion is oppression!

[jdunn1973]

First of all, I respect that we will probably have a difference of opinion... but this post does make a little bit of sense to me. It seems odd that so many people imagine that the meat we eat is produced one hundred percent humanely. Visit Peta.com and watch a video or two. We all brag about how loving and smart our dogs are ( all true ) but studies and personal experience show pigs are the same if not more intelligent and loving and responsive to human kindness. Wagering on any animal fight seems insane to me, but so do factory farms. There is a common thread holding the two together...cruelty to animals. I understand why people are hypocritical about this, but it's still hypocrisy none the less. All these banal statements ie: " I love sashimi" "it's delicious", etc.. seem like something a four year old would say. You don't have to be a vegetarian to love animals , obviously, but at least be thoughtful and mindful about the consequences of what you are doing. It's hard to feign interest in your concern about animal welfare if you eat meat. The two aren't separate. That's the burn and truth of the Mcdonalds comment, buying torture for 4.99 yet being disgusted by people killing dogs at the same time seems rather ironic and pathetic.

[lvogt]

Dogs were the first domesticated animal and we, in fact, have a special relationship to them. Besides that, the idea of abusing animals simply for the pleasure of seeing their rage and suffering is depraved.

Humans are carnivores, we have incisors, we eat meat, that does not mean we are meant to enjoy suffering. Slaughtering animals for food does not require pleasure in cruelty and the public wants all animals treated humanely.

As for fish, I doubt they have the same capacity as dogs but in any case their lot is generally to be chewed up or digested whole by another fish or seal so lets keep that in perspective as well.

[StabbyAppleton]

I wonder why vegans are so despised?

[murphy80]

if killling dogs does not make you sick, so be it.
live with yourself.

[JimStag]

'lest we miss an opportunity to actually find common ground:

The animal food industry IS cruel. And hypocrisy abounds in our national attitudes and values about our fellow species.

People who choose to eat meat have the power to create a demand for less-cruel industry practices. If you eat meat - buy only Certified Humane ( www.certifiedhumane.com) products.

People who choose NOT to eat meat have a choice to make too: moral righteousness versus actually reducing animal cruelty.

Adopting an all-vegan-or-nothing approach is ineffective - the equivalent of "abstinence only" sex education.

We vegans can lead by example, and still support the other 95% of the population's ability to make small steps that can dramatically reduce animal suffering.

But it will demand replacing moral righteousness with tolerance, and valuing reduced animal suffering over ego. Are we ready to make this sacrifice?

[cmpnwtr]

Nothing "wrong" about torturing animals for entertainment and profit?? And from what we have been told, then killing them in inhumane and slow ways with hanging, drowning, electrocuting for apparent sadistic pleasure. Seems like Vick and his buddies weren't even willing to provide veterinary services to give a humane euthanasia. Torturing animals is wrong and illegal everywhere in this country, and that's what pit bull fighting is. What kind of moral compass do you have, O'Donnell?

[sculptor]

Mr. O'Donnell you are a pure genius at pushing people's buttons. ;-) ;-)

The whole vegan vs.omnivore fight boils down to how threatened people feel when they are attacked by moralistic snots on a high horse (which is probably a phrase that offends vegans because it uses the word horse ;-) ;-).) Most people don't give a damn what somebody else does or doesn't eat as long as they not attacked for what they themselves do or don't eat.