The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-03-07
A pLAGHaNT CASE or "CRUELTy To
ANEMALa."

TO the Editor Of the Democrat:
A day or two ago Witnessed a gross case
of "cruelty to animals''-as / interpret it
and ] write TO know what | ought, as a
Humanitarian" TO do about IL. desire TO
do my duty 20 society at large. crave
quiet conscience, and | especially desire to let
tho world know that an u humanitarian.
The case is this: wicked little boy had
caught n large and innocent rat In wire
tran. This rat had been thus entrapped while
engaged III tho entirely natural, necessary,
Legitimate and innocent pursuit OF filling his
belly with corn from that boys father
horse trough-iust as We see that higher or
del" OF animals man, doing every day. This
boy has a dog that no Ia cruelty training 10
catch rats, and for some time no had that dog
barking and dashing around that trap while
he "siclSed' him on all 10 the cruel anyiety
and dsmay Of that poor innocent rat
Finally, that cruel boy lot that limo
cent rat out Of that trap, and of oil the cruel
scenes you ever Witnessed that was the eli
max. The dog caught the rat by the back
the rat caught tho dog by the nose. the dog,
In his agony, threw tho rat Into high OR
cruel gravtation brought the rat 10 earth
again: the dog bounced him: the rat hit him
again; the dog tossed him again: gravitation
him and squeezed him again; the rat gnawed
tho dogs nose again, away vert the rat
again al II he was going over tho house,
down gravitation brought him again; the
dog bounced him again, the rat squeaied
the dog growled; few convulsivo move
ments, n sigh, u short gasp, and the dark
nall of death was spread Ger the
terrible scene. That innocent rat
hss borne Imprisonment. has fought, bled
and died" in legitimate effort TO satisfy the
ordinary pangs of hunger; that dogs nat
urally docile disposition his Humanitarian
ism"-has been brutally perverted, and his
nose is "as sore as q boil" Even tho natural
law Of gravitation has becn perverted to base
tlsrs by the upward and downward Oscilla-
tlOns OF that poor rat: and all for WHAT
Why, simply that niggardly man may save
n little horse-feed; simply that u naturally
bad boy may be amused.
Shame, shame, shame on human nature
Shame on the nOliOel Shame on the Mayor
Shame Oh tho Goveinori Shame on the city
and State! Shame on us all! oh shame
where II thy blushT'
The innocent animal goes out in search q
food IL is caught In trap, IL Is frightened
squeezed, tossed, bitten. killed; II even lies
aud stinketh IN our nostris, and there i ~
remedy Il there not n remedy for such evils
Is there no law to reach them IT not, why
not Can't the Society for the prevention
of cruelty to animals" take hold of the
matter There is no comparison be
tween this case and the fight between
the bulldogs M town. There the dogs
were both trained, and they were nearly
Of equal weight--aye.. they were both bun
dogs, and each was backed by his so-called
man. In this case the dog Is trained but the
rat was not; the dog Is one hundred times
heavier than the rat; the dog was backed
while the rat had no hacker; the dog could
take the rat III his mouth and squeeze him
IL was simply impossible for the rat TO take
the dog Ia, and he had to be content to pinch
the dogs nose as he went In his mouth; the
dog could toss the rat. but everybody knows
the rat could not toss the dog any more thar
the dogs tail could wag tho dog; then gravi
tation had the rat, while the dog had thu
double advantage OF gravitation holding hin
firmly 60 the ground while he killed the rat
Who says the cases are at all parallel
Jennings is Humanitarian compared Il
the boy who set this dog and rat at logger
heads Shall nothing be done to this boy
Can't Mrs. Picdyta,e suggest q remedy?
pnusC for reply. lIUMAN1TARlAN.