Often I’ve heard that those who commit brutal crimes against mankind began their brutality by being aggressive toward defenseless animals.

If that’s the case, we should all be concerned.

This thought came to mind less than a week-and-a -half ago when we noticed buzzards gathered at the crossroads that eventually leads to our rural home.
It’s a remote area of road that is secluded by foliage, with no houses in sight for approximately one-quarter mile.

It is also a favored dropping off spot for unwanted pets and animals. We often see lone dogs anxiously roaming back and forth in this area. They have a curious look about them as our vehicle approaches, like they are hoping that whoever dropped them off is coming back to get them.

They never do.

But the latest wasn’t a drop off. After talking with a neighbor, we learned that a dog had been chained to a fence post and left. It is unclear whether the dog was chained, shot and killed or chained and left to die a slow miserable death—not that it matters anymore. The act was still deplorable.

I wanted to get a picture so that maybe someone would recognize the animal resulting in identification of the sicko who left it there. The rain, stench and my hurting heart would not let me. It was unrecognizable by the time the weather cleared.

Like others, I called the sheriff’s office telling them that I didn’t expect anything to be done, but someone from that agency needed to know what had happened.

“What kind of person would do that?” the sympathetic deputy asked while noting that another deputy had visited the spot and decided the carcass was too far decayed to determine cause of death or identification.

I don’t really think of myself as a “bleeding heart” or the “tree hugger” type, but I think some sick son-of-a-biscuit-eater needs to pay or be caged.