“Woman tosses puppy from balcony, laughs at officers.”

It sounds unreal. It sounds like a joke you would use to refer to someone who is notoriously mean. It should not be something we read in the newspaper.

But that’s exactly the story that appears tonight on the Chicago Tribune’s website. According to the article, a 22-year-old woman and her friend found a puppy and tossed the dog off the balcony because it “wasn’t theirs” and they “didn’t want it.”

The puppy ended up with a broken leg, but thankfully, one of the officers who arrested the woman has decided to adopt and care for the dog. Just when you think the story couldn’t get any worse, as she was being arrested, the woman laughed, saying “The Chicago Police Department must have better things to do than worry about a dog.”

I was left angry and speechless.

This very statement, illustrates EVERYTHING that is wrong with some people’s attitudes towards animals. They’re just dogs. Who cares if they’re hurt? I would like to think that this woman or anyone else wouldn’t grab a baby and toss it over a balcony.

Some people will read this and think I’m crazy for comparing a dog to a baby. But the fact is, dogs cannot stand up for themselves. Unlike humans, they cannot fight back. I have not owned a dog, but I love them. And I know enough about them to know that dogs do not choose what happens to them. If a dog is aggressive, it’s not because that’s just the way it is, it’s because the dog was mistreated. It is not the dog’s fault.

By nature, dogs are loyal. They protect their masters. They show love and affection for those who care for them. And this dog, a puppy, just wandered by. He suffered terrible pain for absolutely no reason. No reason he could understand, anyway. But the terrible and horrifying attitude remains: “It’s just a dog”.

I commend the arresting officers. We should be so grateful that the dog is being adopted and will finally have a good home. I am so thankful that there are people who understand and love animals. But I can no longer stand by and read headlines like this without taking action, and I would like to request the help of my readers.

What can we do by working together?

1. Stand up for these animals. They do not have a voice and cannot say how they are being mistreated or hurt. Never stand by and do nothing. Never be the witness to this behavior and justify your doing nothing by the fact that it wasn’t you, it was someone else. If you stand by while someone else hurts an animal, you are just as guilty as the person who did it.
2. Write your local aldermen. Let them know you think the laws against animal cruelty should carry more severe punishments. If people do something like this, then have the audacity to laugh about it, and get nothing more than a slap on the wrist, where’s the punishment?

My final request is that everyone repost this. Share it with anyone and everyone you know who has ever loved an animal. We can no longer cover our eyes and avoid stories like this because it’s painful or makes us sick. Believe me, it makes me sick, angry, and a whole lot more.

My hope for the future is that this “It’s just a dog” attitude will be completely destroyed. “The Chicago Police Department must have better things to do than worry about a dog,” she says?

In my opinion, it’s not high enough on the worry list.

Click here to read the story in the Chicago Tribune.