# How is this animal cruelty? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 9, 2004, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-animal-cruelty/263778 "2004-09-09T13:12:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Stonebow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Stonebow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stonebow)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-animal-cruelty/263778/21 "2004-09-10T13:46:03Z")
> [@neuroman](#): > > **Stonebow** , do you think he should be charged with a felony rather than a misdemeanor? I agree with much of what you said, but a felony charge seems excessive if the dogs were not made to suffer. I honestly don’t know- I’d have to read the statute first- it could be that legally, it is hard to distinguish between the guy that shoots a dog in the head to put it down humanely and the guy that gets off on shooting and hurting animals. And there’s still the issue of disposing of the body afterwords. Frankly, the felony count doesn’t really bug me, but I also assume that any sentencing would be mitigated by his motivations. And yes, I know that this is common in rural areas. Of course, my son’s dad lives out there, and he still wonders why we put our trash out on the sidewalk to be picked up- his dad just has a huge ‘burn-pile’ for all of his trash (organic and otherwise). So telling me that it’s acceptable ‘cause country folks don’t know any better’ is not a winner for me. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-animal-cruelty/263778/22 "2004-09-10T14:00:33Z")
> [@Stonebow](#): > > So telling me that it’s acceptable ‘cause country folks don’t know any better’ is not a winner for me. What an arrogant statement. Who are you to say which way is “better”? If I were a rural owner of an animal which had to be put down, I should think a quick and painless bullet to the head (if done efficiently) would be the most humane way to handle the matter. Certainly less traumatic for the animal than “a car ride to a scary, unfamiliar place with a lobby filled with strange cats and dogs, followed by a wait on a cold metal table, and then [having some stranger] come in and [jab] him with needles.” (Thanks for that imagery, **sugaree**.) ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-animal-cruelty/263778/23 "2004-09-10T14:11:36Z")
> [@adam yax](#): > > The guy is a fool of the highest caliber. He could have saved himself loads of shit by getting his dog fixed to start with. This guy would have probably tried to accomplish it by shooting the dog’s balls off. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-animal-cruelty/263778/24 "2004-09-10T16:15:38Z")
Here’s what the puppy said: “Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You shot my paw: prepare to die.” ---
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-animal-cruelty/263778/25 "2004-09-10T17:24:35Z")
In the MPSIMS thread on this topic, I was asking why shooting a puppy is a felony animal cruelty whereas game hunting is not, my question was not answered. FWIW, I am from rural area and I have put down sick cats and dogs at times. I’ve always hated it, but I hated watching them suffer more. In fact the only animal I have ever relished killing was a cocker spaniel that had mauled my daughter’s face. I blew his brains to kingdom come, but only for the revenge. ---
**Author:** ![tygerbryght](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9a28c/32.png) [@tygerbryght](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tygerbryght)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2004, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-animal-cruelty/263778/26 "2004-09-11T02:55:47Z")
> [@FordPrefect](#): > > In the MPSIMS thread on this topic, I was asking why shooting a puppy is a felony animal cruelty whereas game hunting is not, my question was not answered. FWIW, I am from rural area and I have put down sick cats and dogs at times. I’ve always hated it, but I hated watching them suffer more. In fact the only animal I have ever relished killing was a cocker spaniel that had mauled my daughter’s face. I blew his brains to kingdom come, but only for the revenge. You shoulda searched the board on animal cruelty. If I’d seen the MPSIMS thread, I’d probably have suggested it then. But I went back in my posts to find where I’d commented on this topic. Of course, in that thread, the issue was hypothetical. Here’s the [link](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=257403) for a thread which went into some aspects which haven’t yet been mentioned in this thread. I’d suspect that there have been many threads on this subject, and if you did that search, you’d find **lots** of discussion. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-animal-cruelty/263778.md?page=1)