Dear Editor:
Throughout history until very recently, it was assumed that women and children belonged to the husband/father and therefore no one could interfere with how he treated them. Finally there are laws that determined women and children are not property and cannot legally be abused. It is also time that laws in Mississippi make it illegal and punishable to abuse and/or neglect the animals - especially mammals - that a person owns. I am truly grateful the Magee Courier Editor front paged this issue in the article about Gladys, the dog neglected to the point of imminent death.
It is amazing that a great number of people don't even believe that animals feel heat, cold, pain, hunger, thirst, fear, joy, etc., just as people do. I happened to have taken Comparative Anatomy in college and was awed by how similar the body systems of all other mammals and those of humans are. It's almost as if when God designed the nerve, digestive, skeletal, etc. systems of the first animal, he thought it was so good that he didn't have to reinvent "the wheel" for each kind. Instead he could just make adjustments depending on things like how they should walk, but the basic systems operate the same in all mammals, of which we are one. Some other classifications of animals such as birds have many similar systems, including the nervous (feeling) system.
In the over 2000 years since Jesus was on earth to teach mankind how to treat each other and God's other living creations, we have been extremely slow to learn. The easiest lesson of all to remember is to "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" and yet we forget it numerous times each day in our treatment of other humans - especially the ones not like us.
No wonder animals can be treated so horribly by those ignorant of their needs, those who just don't care about them, and those who simply enjoy treating them cruelly.
This country likes to think of itself as a predominately Christian nation to the point that the vast majority of those running for public office first declare that they are Christians. Well one of the things I understand from the teachings of Jesus Christ is that you do not ignore the suffering of God's creatures. You point it out, as was done in Gladys' case and act to stop the suffering.
Law enforcement was asked to intervene and they saved her. It only takes minutes to contact your state law makers to advocate for laws that protect helpless animals in bad situations. We cannot just shake our heads and go on - Jesus expects us to act on their behalf as we should for a child or any other helpless being. If some people are just too busy to personally take action, they can financially contribute to the organizations that do take action, rescuing and providing shelter and care. But each of us is the front line of reporting abuse and making sure it is followed up on.
It is probable that our humane behaviors best display the depth of our Christian beliefs, rather than our words.
Kay Coats
Magee, MS
