Human’s same: Katrina Christensen. Pet's name and age: Precious is a three-year-old “Tabowi.” Favourite activities: Her favourite activities include going for waiks, playing ball and retrieving her toys by name. CAN you believe the horrific animal abuse crimes that have been in the news lately? A man beats another man’s dog in the head with a golf club in a fit of road rage. Another dog had her throat slashed fom ear to ear and was left for dead ai the side of the road. A man claiming psychological prob- lems beat his pup with a hammer. Dogs are dragged down roads while tied to car bumpers. And the latest, a man tries to kill his mother’s dog by beating it with a pick axe, These are the terrible cases of animal abuse that we hear about. We all gasp in horror and hope the abuses recsive just punish- ment (which they never do). But what we don’t hear ‘~» about is the dog who is slapped or kicked daily for jumping or barking or even licking an owners hand. This type of abuse, although less severe, is no different than the others. : Now, if you are reading this and thinking, “You’re way off base, sister. Slapping a dog is completely different than hitting it with a ham- - mer.” Well, get real. ~The fevel of pain may be different but the intent to _ cause it is the same. Now some of us, like myself, cannot comprehend how a human being could ‘@ abuse, in any fashion, a crea- ture that gives so eagerly and asks for nothing. But then there are those who justify the abusive actions of others or themselves by sav- ing “It’s just a deg.” aw © What motivates a person to abuse a dag? Psychological problems maybe? Stress? Frustration? How about being a dis- turbed disrespectful concrol ~~ freak! I know that stiffer penal- ties are necessary to deter severe animal abuse and progress has been made, to some degree, in that respect. Hopefully it will continue to improve. But what about the guy who kicks his dog when it Favourite treat: Besides the toys which she loves to chew on, Precious gets special diet dog biscuits for treats. Pet tale: Katrina says she doesn’t have iny particular stories to tell about Precious, just that she is a good dog and cute. She says Precious has brought a lot of joy to her ife. gets in his way? Whar will make him stop? It can begin by changing the attitude that dogs are lower life forms than humans that have no feel- ings and need to be con- trolled through punishment. Let’s be anthropomor- phic for a moment and imagine ourselves as a dog, who gets himself in trouble now and then, like all dogs. Your owner, who you love more than anything in this world, but slaps you once in a while, gets ticked one day because vou chased acar. He grabs you by the collar and you happily fol- low him to his truck. “Maybe we’re going fora ride,” you innocently think to yourself. He ties a rope around your neck then attaches that rope to the back of the truck. You don’t know what's going on, but because you trust him, you think he must want you to wait right here. Instead, your owner gets in the truck and begins to drive away. “Hey Dad, you forgot I was back here,” you bark. You begin to run faster behind the truck, but your owner picks up speed. You begin to stumble and fall :o the ground. Your Dad, who you diligently watch over at night, looks kack and begins to swerve across the road. You feel the pain on your paws and your legs as the flesh is ripped from them. You hit a bump in the road and your ieg breaks. The pain is so severe that you go unconscious. If you are fucky, you wake up in an animal hospital. Did the dog learn not to chase cars? No, the dog learned to be deathly afraid of being tied up to vehicles. Sick story huh? But this happens, more often than we all care to think. And it all starts with an attitude that it is OK to strike a dog. Hitting a dog even dur- ing training is not OK. It only teaches a dog to be afraid of training. Dogs are not unfeeling robots that can be used like punching bags to release pent-up stress and frustration. The ‘ sooner everyone begins to realize that dogs are devot- ed, trusting caring animals that deserve the respect they give, just like humans, the sooner all animal abuse can be put to an end. — foan ts the owner of Sisrra KY training on the North Shore. For advice or If you would like to appear with your pet in Pet Pause. please write to Terry Peters c/o the North Shore News, 1139 Lonsdale Ave., North Vancouver, 8.C., V7M 2H4. Cr send e-mail to . There's another Pet Pause on page 50! training e-mail her at or reach her through the North Shure News. Comments in the form of a letter to the editor are welcome. NEWS photo Cindy Goodman