Angela Ivey, director of veterinary medicine at the Richmond SPCA, shared some insights on the subject last month on the “Dog Blog/CatChat” here. (Scroll down to “Medical Impact of Chaining,“ February 16.)

Chris, how one treats a dog is not a good indicator of how they treat humans. As I’ve pointed out before, Hitler loved dogs.

However I recognize that people tend to treat dogs better than humans simply because they find the former less annoying—which might actually be a distortion of the fact that they know they can ‘control’ a dog easier.

But I’ll stop here before the Supreme Powers scald me for “getting off topic.“ (Big no-no in our world of control. Woof.)

Am I not correct in mentioning that one danger sign of a teen who may become a sadistic killer of humans is a tendency to torture animals to death? If you see that, look out, it will not stop there.

I see no need to compare the cruel treatment of dogs with cruel treatment of humans. I suspect however that the same person who would subject a dog to such misery might not be the best parent on the planet. There is this thing called compassion, and if you don’t have it for a dog, you ain’t likely to have it for a human either.

Two points I would like to make.

point #1]...Humans “are” different than animals!

We are a “higher being” and we do have protected rights that animals just dont have.

Now befor everyone goes off thinking I condone cruelty to animals, I would like to say that the pictures in Barts report are sickening to me and I think there needs to be punishment for those crimes.
I own two cats who have a better life than I do, and they spend half their life in my lap being petted.

I am just saying that a crime against an animal doesnt rise to the same level as crimes against humans.
No human should ever be jailed over anything they do to or dont do for an animal.
Except using an animal in a crime against another human.

Point #2]...If people are going to argue that animals deserve the same rights as humans now have, then those people need to be consistant with their thoughts and fight for every living creature to enjoy those rights, instead of just the cute snuggly ones.

Snails, worms, and toads are in the animal kingdom too.

Again, I liked your column Bart. And basically I agree with where Gayle is coming from—basically. I like dogs, cats, squirrels, lizards… Yet I don’t see cruelty to dogs as being nearly as common as human cruelty. Not even close actually.

Our nation is abound with frequent stories of kids being bullied relentlessly in school— and the people who witness the bullying it never raise the same level of concern. (Some of these poor kids eventually kill themselves to escape the daily torture).

I agree with everyone here that animal cruelty is bad news, but I am in slacked-jawed amazement at the attitude of, ‘well, some people deserve what they get.‘ Is this some sick way of keeping the competition low?

However, if you see a human chained do not call anyone since it is a low priority. Dogs need their space, so a place like the Richmond Jail would be unacceptable. Build dog parks instead of new jails.

Your article on chained up dogs was excellent, but didn’t go far enough.  There are many laws on the books regarding mistreatment of dogs and other animals.  So by all means if anyone sees a dog outside with no shelter, no fresh water on a daily basis, no food on a daily basis, thin and dirty or with a collar embedded in the neck or on a short chain where they can barely move, please, please, please call Animal Control.  You may have to call several times to check back and get the problem resolved, but they will cite the owner and require them to correct the problems.  They will also take the animal if they feel the situation is life threatening to the animal.  I called regarding two dogs in my neighborhood, one was taken from the owner and the other owners provided shelter, shade and other improvements to the dog’s living conditions.  If everyone reports this kind of abuse we can fix the problems!

Thank you very much for your article about chaining dogs.  There is another national organization at www.dogsdeservebetter.com.  The Richmond area has a representative assigned to us.  (I didn’t get her permission to use her name here).  Dogs Deserve Better, 2003 First Place Winner of the ASPCA/Chase Pet Protector Award, is a voice for chained and penned dogs, whose sadness speaks only through the eyes. As the days become years, many of these dogs sit, lay, eat, and defecate within the same 10-foot radius. Chained by the neck, they exist without respect, love, exercise, social interaction, and sometimes even basic nourishment. Dogs should not have to live chained or penned as prisoners, yearning for a place in a family, craving acknowledgement, respect, and love.

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