Like
most people, I was horrified to learn of the tragic case of a two-year-old pit
bull found in a Quincy park with extensive wounds that included burns on her
face, lacerations scattered on her body, skull fractures, half starved,
dislocated joints, and what may be worst of all, a split tongue to look like a
serpent’s. ‘Puppy Doe’, as she is commonly referred to, was tortured to
an extent most of us cannot even fathom.
When
Puppy Doe sought love, she received hate; when she sought compassion, she
received cruelty; and when she sought comfort, she received pain. The
individual or individuals who perpetrated these crimes against her are nothing
at all, if not monsters. They are subhuman, incapable of accepting the
unconditional love gifted from animal to person.
Sadly,
as I type these words, monsters, such as the ones who cowardly abused ‘Puppy
Doe’ relentlessly, continue to commit acts of cruelty. Often times, our
laws refer to animals as little more than property, but we are a great society,
and our society does not accept this notion. Dogs, cats, and other
animals become a part of our families, and have become a significant presence
that we share our homes and our lives with.
On
Monday, October 7th, the Massachusetts Senate Republican Caucus filed “An Act
Protecting Animal Welfare and Safety”, or the “PAWS Act”, to address our
antiquated animal cruelty laws, some of which date back as far as the 19th and
20th centuries. The PAWS Act increases the penalties both in terms of
jail time and fines, but it also creates an animal abuse registry of those convicted
of animal abuse crimes. Furthermore, the registry would obligate animal
shelters, pet stores, and registered breeders to crosscheck the names on the
registry prior to an animal exchanging hands.
Importantly,
the registry would be accessible to private citizens by visiting law
enforcement agencies, such as a municipality’s local police department, and
empower private citizens who list animals in classified ads with the tools to
combat against those who habitually troll Craigslist ads for further animal
victims.
We
are a great people, but we must not sit idly by. We must stand together,
speak in unison, and declare that these actions, these crimes against animals
cannot and will not be tolerated in our communities. At this moment the
PAWS Act has 43 total sponsors. I ask everyone to call their State
Senator and State Representative and urge them to sign onto the PAWS Act.
On
a parallel note, I want to thank everyone for the tremendous amount of support
I have received regarding the filing of the PAWS Act. People from
Massachusetts and across the nation have been extremely supportive, and I thank
you.
