There is no good reason for vigilante justice, regardless of what the initial crime was. Sure, I’d try and rescue the puppies, and would try to get a good description of this girl to report her to the authorities. When you take the law into your own hands, that is vengeance. And we all know to whom vengeance truly belongs. It would be truly evil, and really stupid, for any well-meaning animal-loving citizen to take the law into their own hands and perhaps commit a worse crime against this girl.
I would hope that some form of community service, in addition to a healthy fine and counseling, would be in order if she is convicted of this if jail or juvie hall isn’t part of the equation. Maybe something like having to pooper-scoop all of the city parks, every weekend, for about a year?
My younger sister is a paralegal working in the district attorney’s office. She has frequently said, “If people acted out on their feelings, the streets would be littered with bodies.” The rule of law is what separates us from barbarianism.
We have a person in our city who was pulled over for a traffic violation a few weeks ago. While the police officer was writing the ticket, he heard a cat meowing. There was no cat in the passenger compartment of the car. He ordered the driver to open the trunk. In the trunk was a frightened cat sitting in a pan covered with oil, onions, and peppers. The driver explained that the cat “treated him badly,” and was “demanding, needy, and wasteful.” He then said that the neutered male cat had been pregnant and had a miscarriage, and he was taking it to the SPCA, where he had gotten it about six months ago.
It looked like the cat was being marinated in anticipation of being eaten. And yes, there was a furor in the local media. It hit the national news as well. And all sorts of people were proposing all sorts of penalties, including marinating this guy in oil, onions, and peppers, etc, etc. People were really just ventilating their outrage. I doubt anyone would have done such a thing. Most people were saying that the guy is just plain nuts, and belonged in the hospital.
This person was interviewed on TV, and he just plain looked and acted bizarre. The reporter asked him if he was under psychiatric care, and the guy said, “That’s immaterial.” Then he said, “I’m not crazy.” (Personal note: If he’s not crazy, he certainly will do until a crazy person comes along!) He was given an appearance ticket for a court date, that he failed to respond to. There is a warrant out for his arrest, and I strongly suspect he will be taken from the police booking office right to the local psychiatric ward.
The cat was taken to the SPCA and given a good bath to get all the gunk off of him. And the cat was adopted by someone that very day, probably before his fur dried off.
I’d be too busy taking care of the animal. She can take care of the crowd herself. I don’t have the stomach for that kind of stuff. We all have our limits, that’s mine. Just like you would leave the puppies in the river to die because you would be rushing to help her instead, someone’s got to tend the hurting animals. We all have our roles. Do yours and I’ll do mine and both will be covered 