Victims without voices: pets suffer at owner's hands

Pilot Jim Carney is not surprised when one of his passengers barks - it's a routine flight when Carney is volunteering with Pilots N Paws.

Carney, a retired commercial airline pilot, uses his private plane to deliver rescued animals from Tennessee to other parts of the country, where people are waiting to adopt them.

Carney said he got involved with Pilots and Paws because he is a dog lover.

"I grew up on a farm, and I've had a dog ever since I was a little boy," said Carney, who has been a volunteer with Pilots N Paws for seven months. "This is a great way to enjoy flying and help dogs and people at the same time. Pilots N Paws is a great program. There are almost 1,000 of us nation wide."

However, most stray or abused animals aren't fortunate enough to catch a flight to a better life.

In 2008 there were 1,690 reported cases of animal abuse in the U.S., according to pet-abuse.com.

Nina Wingfield, director of the Collierville animal shelter, said many cases come from homes filled with domestic violence.

"You have to look at the whole picture," she said. "There could be an abuser in the home who uses the animal as a tool of coercion. He will threaten his kids saying, 'If you don't do right, I'm going to hurt the dog, kill the cat, etc.'"

Wingfield said one of the worst cases she has seen was of a little dog named Faith, who was set on fire by a 12-year-old.

"When there is an abuser in the home, he teaches the children how to get their way by using animal abuse," Wingfield said.

It's not only in the inner city and in low income communities where animal abuse takes place, as some believe, because it's not only inner cities that are filled with domestic violence, Wingfield said.

"People think wealthy people always take good care of their pets," she said. "But we have had plenty of calls about wealthy people abusing their pets."

Tuli Ross, a professional dog trainer for over 20 years, said many animals are neglected because people don't care to spend enough time with them.

"I had a client come home to find her dog had chewed through her entire house," Ross said. "Basically, he was just bored. No one was spending enough time with him."

Ross said she also sees animal abuse while driving around her neighborhood.

"I saw a dog chained without access to food and water," Ross said. "One was tied up with a piece of wire around his neck that was eating into his flesh. Mostly, it's ignorance. People don't understand dogs have feelings, and they need to be taken care of."

Ross said the law provides for animals to have certain rights.

"The law is that dogs have to have access to water, food and cover," Ross said. "One couple had a puppy outside with no cover, no access to water and was stuck out in the rain."

It will take a collective effort to get the pet abuse problem under control, Wingfield said.

"We have to have the support of city officials, law enforcement, social services and the health department," Wingfield said. "We all have to be working together."

Wingfield said citizens can also play a large role in helping with the pet abuse problem.

"The first thing you can do is pick up the phone and alert someone," Wingfield said. "Inform law enforcement - call the police when you see something. A lot of people think they are getting away with it. When people step up and say, 'No, I'm not going to let you get away with it,' that's what helps."

People can also help by writing to their mayor and councilmen, Wingfield said.

Wingfield, who is also president of The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said humane education is the nucleus to prevent abuse.

"We go to all the schools and to the boy and girl scouts to talk about spaying and neutering your pets, bite prevention, requirements of law and proper restraint," Wingfield said. "Mainly, we want to teach them how to be a responsible pet owner."

With the Christmas season fast approaching, many parents want to give their children puppies as a present. However, that decision should not be made lightly, Wingfield said.

"An animal is not just a purchase or a gift," Wingfield said. "It's a responsibility. It's a living, breathing thing you are responsible for. Parents think they are teaching their kids responsibility by giving them a pet, but if they are not going to teach them how to treat the pet, what they are really teaching them is not to have respect for life."

However, parents who take time to teach their children how to be responsible pet owners are "taking the first, wonderful step to being a good parent," Wingfield said.

Most people only consider dogs and cats when thinking about pet abuse. However, horses are the "silent sufferers" of animal abuse, Wingfield said.

"It's the American dream to have acreage and horses," Wingfield said. "But horses are very expensive, and in today's economy people can't afford them. Some people that do have horses also have a lack of knowledge about what a horse needs. It takes a long time to see abuse in a horse because they are so big, but we have seen horrible cases of neglected horses."

Ross said the poor economy is also affecting animals being abandoned.

"There is a tremendous influx of unwanted dogs because of the economy," Ross said. "People want to get rid of their pets, but they don't know how to do it properly. Someone told me they didn't want their cat, so they just dropped it off in the country."

Ross said people need to understand their options if they want to give up their pet.

"There is a rescue organization for almost every breed that will take them in and take care of them," Ross said. "People just don't understand their options. They need to be educated."

Recently, there has been a lot of negative light shed on the Memphis animal shelter and its director for not taking care of its animals properly.