General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsUnfuckingbelievable...
A dog named Pay de Limon (Lemon Pay) runs, fitted with two front prosthetic legs at Milagros Caninos rescue shelter in Mexico City, on August 29, 2012. Members of a drug gang in the Mexican state of Zacatecas chopped off Limons paws to practice cutting fingers off kidnapped people, according to Milagros Caninos founder Patricia Ruiz. Fresnillo residents found Limon in a dumpster bleeding and legless.
After administering first aid procedures, they managed to take him to Milagros Caninos, an association that rehabilitates dogs that have suffered extreme abuse. The prosthetic limbs were made at OrthoPets in Denver, Colorado, after the shelter was able to raise over $6,000.
(Reuters/Tomas Bravo)
see more animals in the news:
http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2013/03/animals-in-the-news/100474/
LiberalLoner
(9,762 posts)Off fingers of those they kidnap, too? Drug gangs are like a horrible cancer. Drug use ( meth and heroin, not pot) is a cancer too.
pasto76
(1,589 posts)just sayin
darkangel218
(13,985 posts)LiberalLoner
(9,762 posts)AAO
(3,300 posts)Skraxx
(2,982 posts)But I wouldn't feel great about it nor would I relish the opportunity and be so glib about it. But to actually think and brag that you're capable of cutting off someone's finger, IOW, torturing them, is pretty, ummm, sick.
Myrina
(12,296 posts)n/t
BlancheSplanchnik
(20,219 posts)The horrible things humans do to animals always sends me over the edge.
brett_jv
(1,245 posts)Are caused by their illegality.
Meth makes a decent case in point. There's plenty of safer 'prescription' alternatives to Meth, such as Dexedrine, but because they're illegal, people resort to horrifically poisonous 'bathtub' versions of stimulants like methamphetamine from Mexico. I'd certainly not claim that stimulants are 'harmless', (far from it, really) but the Rx versions of this type drug are many, many times safer than the nasty, god-knows-WHAT-is-really-in-it 'crystal' that people can buy on the street, and just as pleasant in terms of the high.
Heroin, however, provides a much better example. Opioids are a class of drug that, properly administered (i.e. with clean needle, or just orally) are virtually harmless to the body, aside from the addiction component.
The main reason that addicts lives are torn asunder (along with that of their loved ones) is because a person can't just go down to the corner drug store and pay a dollar or two for an entire days supply, which is all that it would cost if it were legal.
Instead, they become part of a seedy underworld where the profits and prices are astronomical, the supply is constantly threatened, and dope-sickness is always right around the corner. To an opioid addict in a country with drug prohibition, panic, desperation, and financial ruin comprise one's perpetual state of existence. Overdoses due to uncertain purity levels are a daily occurrence. Violence is perpetrated constantly, both by the 'dealers' protecting their territories, and the addicts trying to come up with the $$$ to pay these dealers ... and for WHAT?
If this class of drug were to be made legal and affordable ... yeah, there'd be more addicts ... but overall, the cost to society of this particular scourge (esp. when you count the costs of the 'drug wars', plus the prison costs, to the taxpayer) would be brought down DRAMATICALLY. We could use the money currently invested on cops and prisons to help people who want the help, and to subsidize the habits of people who don't ... and it would still cost WAY, WAY less than what we pay as a society presently, trying to maintain this prohibition.
gtar100
(4,192 posts)But it's not this one today. How can we possibly convince people whose first and only reaction to drugs is fear? What you say makes perfect sense yet feels so unattainable with the level of greed involved. Hell, we even have a whole Federal law enforcement agency dedicated to drug laws - the DEA. We are truly twisted in our priorities and what we believe is protecting us is actually killing us.
But since change happens one mind at a time, at least count me as one who supports decriminalization of drugs. Because the problem that drugs present is not criminal in nature. It's about mental and emotional health.
brett_jv
(1,245 posts)I think it's interesting how many well-intentioned folks say that they believe that pot should be legal, but then you ask the same folks about 'hard' drugs like Heroin (really not inherently different from dozens of medications legal w/an Rx) they shudder in horror and say "Oh, my Gosh, NO, of COURSE NOT!".
I personally am of the opinion that, in the overall scheme of things, it's actually MORE important that highly addictive drugs like opioids are legalized. I suspect that 95% of the *actual* crime (violence, robbery, etc) related to any particular drug is perpetrated precisely because of the illegality, NOT the actual effect of the drug. Fact is, addicts 'need their stuff' in order to just feel something approaching 'normal', otherwise, they are in a huge world of pain and suffering, and there's billions of $$$ at stake for the criminals that presently supply desperate addicts with what they need to 'get well'.
If people could just legally buy their dope at a cost commensurate with it's manufacture, we'd wipe out a HUGE criminal underworld, and put an end to a considerable amount of pain, suffering, and senseless death. In fact, opioid addicts kill themselves all the time in despair ... but the main reason for suicidal despair for addicts is because of the merry-go-round that such people have to live on. Their lives consist of "get money to get dope to get well enough to get more money to get more dope etc etc etc". Eventually you have no more money, no job (because 'getting your stuff' occupies so much of one's time), supply dries up, and you end up dope-sick, which is just about the most horrible a human being can ever feel short of being hit by a bus or the like.
However, if we as an enlightened society simply allowed these people to pick up their daily supply for $2 at the drug store, a GREAT many of them would be able to "rejoin society", hold down jobs, and NOT have to live a horrifically stressful and depressing existence that would make just about anyone suicidal eventually.
Well, maybe not crack addicts because the drug itself is pretty debilitating in it's effect, but your average opioid addict (statistically the vast majority of opioid addicts are pain-pill addicts) goes through their life without most people around them even knowing they take them or have a 'problem'.
Now ... a certain recognition of this reality is currently in place, via the mechanism of the distribution of methadone and buprenorphine ... but IMHO, this idea needs to be expanded to include the actual 'drug of choice' of the people who aren't yet ready to move to drugs that don't get them high at all, but just keep their withdrawals at bay.
The cost to society of waging this war against people having the freedom to get high if they want to, at a price consistent with what their drug of choice costs to make ... is far, far greater in terms of treasure AND human suffering ... than the opposite approach of considering the whole situation a 'mental health' problem.
So many people fall into the mindset of thinking that 'drugs are bad' because 'an addict might rob me to get their fix' without ever considering the actual root CAUSE of that problem. Most drugs people use to get high on are cheap as all hell. It's the ILLEGALITY of the drugs that makes (most) drug addicts dangerous. There's a few drugs that actually have a tendency to make people violent, to be sure ... bath salts, bathtub meth, and pcp (oh, and alcohol) are among them. But I have to wonder just how many people would be doing these nasty ass drugs if pharmaceutical-grade dexedrine, morphine/heroin, cocaine, lsd, etc, were available cheaply at the corner drug store? My guess is ... not many, really.
OKNancy
(41,832 posts)off to read the enclosed link. thanks
MotherPetrie
(3,145 posts)him suffer the same fate.
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)darkangel218
(13,985 posts)Cha
(297,679 posts)who brought him back to life.
BeyondGeography
(39,380 posts)Still. What an amazing creature.
Raine1967
(11,589 posts)I can only imagine how broken he was in spirit as well as physically, and now here he is, running and smiling.
Lemon Pay!
lastlib
(23,287 posts)... they REALLY deserve the same kind of torture.
(although I think I would start in a slightly different part of their anatomy............)
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dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)ProfessionalLeftist
(4,982 posts)ZombieHorde
(29,047 posts)and on the other hand, humans were compassionate enough to save the dog and use resources to give the dog the best life he could have in his situation.
We are a diverse species.
loudsue
(14,087 posts)after the bad people.
That is exactly what I thought as well but the cruelty is a diversity that we can all do with out.....
OneGrassRoot
(22,920 posts)a UN Declaration for Animal Rights as there are for Human Rights.
This is the only site I found working toward that:
http://e-activist.com/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=24&ea.campaign.id=17936
Back a Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare
Animal suffering is an urgent worldwide problem. Whether its the millions of animals forgotten after natural disasters or the 1 billion stray cats and dogs at risk of being needlessly culled, animals need our help. As well as the individual actions we can take, our governments have a crucial role to play in creating lasting change for animals.
This is why WSPA is calling for a Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare (UDAW) to be backed by the United Nations.
A declaration will create a baseline for animal care and treatment that every nation in the world can work towards... It will make animals a global priority, to be included as we seek solutions for the big issues we face, like poverty and climate change... It will make animals matter.
More than 2 million individuals and 40 governments have joined us in demanding a declaration. Join us.
Tell the world that animals matter: back a Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare.
Brigid
(17,621 posts)Mexican drug dealers won't care what the UN says.
OneGrassRoot
(22,920 posts)but some of the cultural ways we're inflicting extraordinary, unnecessary pain and suffering on animals is what I was thinking about. Criminals are criminals, but if we can raise awareness about the rights of animals in general, maybe the criminal activity will get more attention and decrease.
Plucketeer
(12,882 posts)Of course - not heartwarming that this pooch lost his legs for the crazy reason stated. But because of the care administered and the immediacy with which it was. Now - lessee.......... how long is it that our veterans are having to wait for attention? That shouldn't happen to a dog!
secondwind
(16,903 posts)Swede Atlanta
(3,596 posts)This is one case where if they ever found the cretins that did this I would have no problem with capital punishment without trial and without regard to whether they suffer or not. I cannot imagine hurting a poor defenseless animal.
They are joy given to us by evolution or by God but they make our lives so much richer.
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)Poor little angel! I cannot believe anyone could do this to an innocent doggie.
obxhead
(8,434 posts)One can do such a horrific act and another can come to create such an amazing feat.
Maybe one day we can figure out a real way to eliminate the former from our species.
shenmue
(38,506 posts)Thank goodness for those who saved him.
darkangel218
(13,985 posts)good doggie, lemon pie.!! we wuvs you!!
Xxxxxxx <3
Flaxbee
(13,661 posts)Limon was saved.
I just have no words. And wouldn't trust myself if I ever caught someone doing something like that to any living creature. Poachers included.
paleotn
(17,963 posts)What a sweetie! When I think I've seen the limit of human cruelty, along comes a story like this.
Initech
(100,103 posts)Fuckers.
spanone
(135,877 posts)midnight
(26,624 posts)MoonRiver
(36,926 posts)What kind of soulless excrement could do such a thing?
mountain grammy
(26,655 posts)zappaman
(20,606 posts)Rec and kick!
AndyA
(16,993 posts)Horrible story with a better ending. Hope he has a long and very happy life after this. He deserves it.
ReRe
(10,597 posts)You have to admire the spirit of that dog. Little Lemon Pay loves life and nothing is going to keep him down! Thanks to all the people who contributed to the fund, which in turn made him ambulatory once again so he could run like the wind! The tongue gives away his glee.
raouldukelives
(5,178 posts)EC
(12,287 posts)and we were going over the options...I wonder if this would be affordable for 1 leg if my dog needs the leg amputated. I'm hoping just the soft tissue is all that is affected.
veness
(413 posts)I cry a lot about it. It is just so cruel. He's a big dog and it limits his prognosis. The line that keeps going through my head is "They shoot horses, don't they?" I'm am so scared they'll tell me it's not reasonable to amputate because of his age. He's a 11 year old st. bernard mix.
KittyWampus
(55,894 posts)needed the wheels on their hind quarters to walk.
lonestarnot
(77,097 posts)Gin
(7,212 posts)If I was a judge and they came before me....an eye for an eye would be my sentence....immediately start cutting a finger a day.... Bastards.
walkerbait41
(302 posts)When I hear that some people can do this I lose hope
When I see that people can come together and help then I get my hope back
Zorra
(27,670 posts)Whatever it would do would certainly be an improvement.
Phlem
(6,323 posts)In her latter years she was a tripod but always a puppy at heart.
I also have PTSD from prolonged child abuse.
knowing people did this on purpose makes my soul cry.
-p