Ignorance, fear and a lack of inherent respect for living things is a disastrous combination, as demonstrated by a horrible story out of  Toombs County, Georgia.

At the end of January, animal rescue personnel were alerted that Alice, a 6-year old dog, was living in a 5’x8′ box, constructed of wooden boards and tin. The only sunlight that the dog could receive came through the slats and the chicken wire that covered the box from above.
Her food–mostly white bread, buns, and the occasional table scrap, was dropped in from above, as was her water. The floor of the box was caked with years of feces and urine.

The owner of the home told the rescuers that the Alice had been placed in this box because she was one of “those mean kind of dogs.” A pit bull.

No, Alice’s cruel warden was not Charles Leerhsen. But the anti-pit bull writer is partially to blame, along with The Daily Beast, other irresponsible publications and news organizations, and all the municipalities that have caved-in to canine paranoia by banning innocent breeds based on the results of human mistreatment.

Alice’s keeper further informed the rescuers that the dog belonged to his son-in-law, and that he rarely came to visit. When he was asked how long the dog had been in the box, the answer was, “Since she was a puppy.” That’s right. She had never actually displayed any aggressive tendencies. And she had been confined to her box for all six years of her life…no pats, no toys, no care, no play. No love.

The dog’s owners were contacted, and the rescuers attempted to buy Alice from them. They  refused.  On the recommendation of the animal rescue personnel, the Southern Comfort Animal Rescue director visited the property with a county sheriff. The sheriff was revolted by what he saw, but his superior was not, and a Chief Magistrate said he would reject any charges of animal cruelty. Alice still resides with a caretaker who has no sense of her needs or pain. She has been moved out of the box, but her accommodations and treatment are still sub-standard.

One must compare animal abuse to child abuse with delicacy. But Alice’s story is relevant to some of the comments that have appeared here this week relating to Jessica Beagly, the mother who took home videos of her cruel methods of “disciplining” her young adopted son and brought then to “Dr. Phil,” for all the world to see.

“As for the abuse matter, I will let the law decide,” says commenter John. “She was reported, charged and will face whatever consequence the courts decided.” The law decides what it deems worthy of punishment, not right and wrong. The law is also fallible. The law, so far, has decided that Alice isn’t being abused, by legal standards. That does not mean the dog is not being abused; it does not mean our commentary and opinions are bound by the law’s narrow perspective in such matters, and it does not insulate the dog’s cruel keepers from criticism and condemnation. Relying on the law alone to make ethical judgments is a mistake, and an abdication of responsibility.

Commenter Cara, meanwhile, thinks that everyone is entitled to their own definition of abuse. How do we know, really, how much pain a child is in? That hot sauce Beagly’s son had to drink wasn’t so hot, she assures us. And the cold water in the shower the child was forced to stand naked and shivering in may have been aimed at the child’s back. “BIG difference!” she writes.

And maybe Alice was happy in her box—after all, she never has known anything else. Maybe she likes to eat bread and honey buns. Maybe she was a mean puppy. We shouldn’t criticize unless we know the whole story, Cara reminds us. And who are we to judge?

We judge because the innocent, weak and powerless cannot protect themselves, and we don’t want the law to be our only standard of right and wrong. We judge because the easy neglect of the excuse-makers, the rationalizers and the apathetic leave victims without recourse when they come under the control of individuals who lack compassion and respect for others. Yes: all pendulums can swing too far—PETA, as we know, thinks it is better to euthanize dogs than to find them loving homes that won’t meet their extreme standards of appropriate treatment. A fear of zealotry cannot excuse our striving to establish humane and ethical cultural norms for the treatment of both children and animals. and to sound the alarms as loudly as we can when we see them breached.

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Southern Comfort Animal Rescue (SoCo) has created a petition on behalf of Alice.
Concerned individuals are encouraged to write to the Magistrate Court of Toombs County, Chief Magistrate John Matheson, 147 Jerry Ave., Lyons, GA 30435, or phone 912-526-8984. Fax 912-526-8985. Contact Sheriff Alvie Lee Kight, Jr. at 912-526-6778, and/or County Manager, Doug Eaves, at deaves.toombsco@bellsouth.net. SoCo also has a Facebook page.

So far, no similar resources have been established to ensure protection for Jessica Beagly’s son.