Cruelty as a Matter of Convenience

We are having an amazingly warm weekend , with temperatures in the low eighties, it may even get to 85 on Monday. I was sitting outside on the deck at eight this Saturday morning, with the air smelling sweet, not a cloud in the turquoise dome of sky above me, birds and little cabbage moths and orchard bees busy all around me. I felt like this is what a morning in paradise must be like. And I thought with a sense of dreadful anticipation of the poor dog two houses over behind us, who is always in her kennel cage, and desperately tries to get her callous owners attention, to please let her out for a while , and acknowledge her existence and needs on this beautiful day. The cries of the dog during the day when she can let go of her despair are heart breaking, and in the winter, on those cold dark days, the howling tears my soul apart. I have tried to communicate with her owners. I have sent Animal Services over there, but the owners are never home. And I thought of ALDF and their campaign to free Tony the tiger in Grosse Tete,Louisiana, where he had been confined in a cage at a truck stop by a cruel owner for 10 years. The charismatic and caring actor Leonardo DiCaprio got involved with the case and it got a lot of media attention. It was a great story. But I cannot help but think of the thousands and thousands of animals confined in kennel cages, some just about 24 /7, and I see no legislation to try and do something about that. I wrote to the President of ALDF, a man who does animals in need an apparent world of good, but he never answered. It is a matter of awareness, that people should realize that a dog is not meant to be put in a kennel cage and then forgotten for years at a time. That is cruelty, no less, no more. It is a cruelty that is so pervasive that a lot of people don't seem to care when you bring it up. When I called Animal Services here in Olympia, I asked them if they let their pets out that are waiting to be adopted during the day. Oh yes, was the cheerful answer, an hour each day. So why is this not being enforced in pet owners? No answer. It was just too close a question. Cruelty is a sly beast, and insidious when we do not pay attention. If an organization like ALDF put their weight behind at least the awareness that this is a terrible problem for way too many dogs in this great country of ours, then maybe slowly people's attitudes would change, and with that change of attitude would come a change in action. As it is , cruelty in this matter is just a matter of convenience. It is too convenient to do anything, people just shrug, what are you going to do ,right? Awareness is the first step in changing bad situations, in getting a conversation started, to realize that it is NOT all right, that it is NOT OK to be indifferent, because it involves an awareness that this type of cruelty should stop. If it is wrong for Tony, the tiger, it is WRONG for the endless number of dogs languishing in kennel cages. If you are too busy to pay any attention to your dog, DON'T GET A DOG!! I sure wish a reputable organization like ALDF who are savvy about legal issues when it comes to animals would get excited about this. It would take years, maybe decades, but are there no knights in shining armor left, who believe in a very challenging cause? The poor dog behind our house who just woke up to another day of isolation and despair sure hopes so, if she has any hope left. COME ON!