A lot is going on in the news right now. Our college campuses are in turmoil. These gathering places for higher learning have traditionally erupted when the end of the spring semester comes and have been where protest and change begin. It needs to happen.

We protested for civil rights and against the Vietnam war. Some of it was good, some not, but that’s how change occurs.

We are excruciatingly aware of the Donald Trump trial now ongoing, daily updates on his lack of physical and verbal control, chalk drawings of his closed eyes, streets empty of protestors. The only protests being his for being forced to be there, being tortured because the thermostat isn’t set to his liking. If it was any warmer, I’m sure they wouldn’t be able to keep him awake. The wheels of justice move slowly, Donald.

These news stories will be covered regularly for quite some time; there is one that just broke into the media suddenly and that may not last long, so I’d like to address the topic while it’s fresh. It has to do with our beloved pets and animal cruelty. Pets can be more than cats and dogs. Pets can be alligators, like Albert, who has lived with his owner for 30 years, and has recently been seized by conservation officers. Folks who understand the bond between people and their pets are protesting for Albert’s return.

Pets can be roosters. My daughter recently organized a book signing event at her Barnes and Noble store. One of the authors was Camille Licate, who wrote a children’s book called “Bree and Me,” and who brought her rooster, Bree to the event. The book is an account of her rescue of a baby chick who escaped from a crate in the middle of New York City. She kept the chick, took care of it, and as it grew into a full-fledged rooster, unable to keep it in a NYC apartment, she moved.

This rooster is well-behaved, well-trained, and obviously well-cared for. He even crowded on cue as he perched behind her when she read the book to the children there. Camille uses her story and her book to teach children to be kind and loving, to “Bree good” to all people and animals.

Most of us dote on our pets. We dress them up with scarves and fancy collars, take them to groomers, do regular vet checkups, we post cute videos on YouTube, show pictures with pride. A recent post on Facebook had scores of comments where pet owners took the time to match their carpet choices to their pets’ fur, or their flooring to the color of the mud their dog brings in. This is adaptation and cooperation so that both pet and owner are happy. “Sadly” said one comment, “when I worked at a vet during college, there were people who would bring their pets in to be euthanized because they did not match the decor. True story.”

Awful selfish and superficial. Rabbits and chicks are often discarded after Easter is over. A rabbit rescue in Erie, Pa., called EARS (Erie Area Rabbit Society) is home to many domestic rabbits that are cared for, but seldom adopted out.

Exotic pets like Albert and Bree are rare, but with proper care some can be trained to be good companion pets. Not all should be though, and in many cases, it is abuse and often unsafe to keep a wild animal in a domestic situation.

That is the upsetting side of this conversation, the abuse of animals. I am a vegetarian because I don’t want to be the reason for any animal’s death. The cruelty of factory farms and the torture that animals endure in the process of going from a living, sentient being to a piece of meat on a plate is horrific. Even in the version of Genesis in the bible that I know of, God did not plan for us to eat animals, but provided vegetation for both man and animal to eat.

The abuse of domestic animals is abominable. Humans have bred dogs, cats, goats, and farm animals to trust and depend on us to take care of them. So South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem deserves all the criticism she is receiving widespread through the media for what she did to her puppy, Cricket.

Noem, whose regard/disregard for life seems all over the place, was notoriously against masks during COVID and allowed the infamous Sturgis bike rally to take place in 2020 which caused the spread of the virus and then used the relief funding for a tourism campaign. However, she believes life begins at fertilization, and is against any exceptions to an abortion ban for rape or incest. She is a gun advocate of course and told an NRA forum last year that her 2-year-old granddaughter has a shotgun and a rifle, and a pony named “Sparkles.” Wow. Sparkles better be on best behavior.

I am sure that, like most media stories, this will die quickly (like poor Cricket, and unlike the poor goat that she decided immediately after offing the dog, to get rid of also. The goat suffered with a missed aim while she went to get more ammo to reload.) What is additionally disturbing is that she defends her actions in her book, which if she thought was going to aid her in a run for VP, seems to have done the opposite. Good to know her sociopathic tendencies.

Everyone from simple animal lovers to professional dog trainers, to rescue organizations, condemn her actions. The dog’s behavior, which consisted of doing what a German Wirehaired Pointer is bred to do, chasing birds, is what got Noem angry. Experts all agree that the problem was with the owner, not the dog. She expected Cricket, a 14-month-old puppy, to not do what is natural for her to do. The breed is not fully mature or adequately trainable until age 2, according to Joan Payton, spokesperson for the German Wirehaired Pointer Club of America and delegate to the American Kennel Club, and not fully trained until age 3 to 5.

It seems that Noem had taken her dog to a pheasant hunt with some others who had adult dogs, thinking that she would “catch on”? Instead, the dog had, as Kristi said, “the time of her life”. Oh, how that must have been terribly embarrassing to Noem. Then, fully aware that Cricket didn’t catch on, she stopped at a neighbor’s farm, who had chickens. What did Noem think would happen? Then, she blamed the dog. She called shooting her dog a difficult decision, when an easier one would have been to give it to a shelter! The follow-up with the goat’s demise doesn’t give much credibility to her defense that it had to be done, the goat was an extra victim of her apparent rage. I can’t imagine looking down a gun barrel at those big brown trusting eyes and thinking that was the right thing to do. As one trainer who was interviewed said, “shame on her.”

It is well documented that the way someone treats animals will reflect on how they treat other human beings.

Hillary Clinton had said awhile back, “don’t vote for anyone you wouldn’t trust with your dog”. She reposted it with “Still true.” While most of us like to think of our beloved pets crossing the rainbow bridge, all poor Cricket got was a gravel pit. RIP Cricket and all the other animals who suffer abuse, neglect, and horrible deaths. Animals also need us to protest for their rights, and “Breelieve” we can do better for them.

Susan Bigler is a Sheridan resident. Send comments to editorial@observertoday.com