Comments (11)

By kilax, October 20, 2009 12:35 pm

Every work day, I walk past the little dining section of Union Station. At the early hour, the tables and chairs are more likely to be used by tired travelers and homeless people, than people dining.

Every time I pass that area, I look for the lady with the cat. She sits with all of her bags around the table, but always has a special bag on the chair next to her, that has her cat sitting in it. He’s a big tiger cat, with mangy fur. She’s usually talking to him. And he’s usually looking right at her.

I wish I had an actual picture of the cat, but I will use this Simon’s Cat pic instead.

For some reason, it really intrigues me that a homeless person has a CAT. Does this cat follow her around all day? Does she carry it around in an open top bag all day?

Yes, these are my deep thoughts this particular Tuesday.

Every time I see her, I think about all of the homeless people in Rome who had dogs. Most of them did. They use pets to gain sympathy from tourists (like how this cat is catching my attention) but most don’t actually treat the animals very well. In fact, Rome officials encouraged people not to give money to the homeless who had dogs, because the dogs are so abused.

I’m so cynical/bitchy/jaded/unsympathetic, that when I see a homeless person here, I don’t give it a second thought. I don’t feel any sorrow or remorse for them. Especially because I see the same people, every day I’m downtown, in the same spots. Of course, I keep thinking about that cat. Is he well fed? Is he happy? Is he healthy? What is wrong with me? See, this is why they have pets… because of saps like me.

I would really like to understand the homeless problem better. I would like to not be so cynical/bitchy/jaded/unsympathetic. I remember taking a sociology class in college, and learning a lot of interesting facts about why people are homeless. Of course, I don’t remember what any of those are…

Comments (12)

By kilax, February 25, 2009 12:30 pm

Awhile ago, I wrote about how happy I was to see a happy animal story in the paper.

This is the kind of article that made me say that. Toni Fedor had her boyfriend watch her dog while she went to work in 2007. When she came home, her dog was so severely beaten that he lost an eye. On Monday, the ex-boyfriend was sentenced to 10 days in jail, along with a two year probation, a psychological evaluation, and 150 hours of community service. He also had to pay $1500 to cover veterinary expenses.

Ten days in jail seems like a very lenient sentence to me (And oh, why is this being settled over a year later?). But Fedor is quoted in the story as saying, “I feel like it’s a punishment that fits the crime.” Does that mean she is satisfied with this minimal sentence?

Think if that was YOUR pet. YOUR dog. YOUR cat. YOUR bird. YOUR ferret. YOUR rabbit. YOUR whatever. I know animals are not the same as people. I am not crazy. But when you have a pet, they FEEL like family.

Ten days in jail is not the appropriate sentence for hurting a family member like that. Especially a small, defenseless family member.

People who hurt animals are likely to go on and hurt PEOPLE. Many studies back this up. I think the boyfriend deserves a bit more time in jail, and a little bit more than a psychological evaluation.

And this guy (scroll to bottom), who kicked a cat so hard that it had to be euthanized? I hope he does get the full three years in prison.