What should happen to these people? WARNING - animal cruelty story.

[RiverStone]

Normally, I don't like posting such a downer, but this story is upsetting on so many levels and may have broader implications beyond the obvious.

Clearly, to live in the conditions as reported - one or both (mother and son) has to be psychotic or have some other major impairment. If they just opened the door and let the animals run out as strays, most would have fared better. The mother also spoke of not getting help when she asked for it, the home foreclosure, and dealing with breast cancer - damn tough to deal with to be sure, but no excuse (minus insanity) for what happened to those animals. The truth in her words remains to be seen.

The system (what ever the fuck that is) looks to have failed as well - but reading this I get so angry.

To whatever degree the 65 year old mother and 39 year are son are aware and culpable for their actions and the extreme cruelty they imposed on those dogs and cats - I hope they are held accountable in a BIG way on 31 counts of animal cruelty! I can imagine the punishment I'd like to impose, same as I felt about that piece of sewage Michael Vick. But Vick had millions and a career in the NFL to bail him out. I believe Mr. Vick knew exactly what he was doing. In this case, nobody was there to rescue the animals or the people in need - it took a locksmith who smelled something bad!!!

Not much up side other than, apparently, Diane Cowling and son moved into an apartment(???), and just maybe - 3 barely alive cats will survive. I wonder if these folks were at least referred for psychiatric evaluations?!

What can be learned from this sad story to prevent similar crazy horrible stuff like this from happening again? Anything?

At least 31 dead animals found in vacant home

GRANITE FALLS, Wash. — Investigators found at least 31 pets dead inside a foreclosed and abandoned Granite Falls home after a locksmith reported a foul odor.

A team from Pasado's Safe Haven is assisting the Granite Falls Police Department in removing the cats and dogs.

"Seems like everywhere you stepped there's an animal. They literally did just lay down and die," said Amber Chenoweth of Pasado's.

Diane Cowling, the former homeowner, lived with the dead animals up until last month.

"I just shut down. I didn't see it, I didn't want to deal with it," she said.

Cowling says she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Then her home went into foreclosure and no shelter would take her animals.

more at link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41213047/ns/us_news-life/

[Hannah Bell]

1. you know, she's just reached retirement age, got a cancer dx & got foreclosed on. & apparently her

son is no help, and apparently animal control offered no help either.

people get overwhelmed & shut down.

now she gets to be judged by the country as the media tests her out as the latest target for people's free-floating resentment, hostility & fear.

i think there are bigger fish to fry than this poor woman.

[Systematic Chaos]

6. +1

Give her medical and psychological help, enough money to live a decent if not posh life with, and let her atone by volunteering in the controlled and supervised environment of an animal shelter instead of any pets at her home.

But here in the Land of the Magic Bootstrap (tm), she can just lose the last remaining shreds of her dignity.

[rpannier]

2. Interesting question

On the surface it's easy to say she should be thrown in jail
But there are an array of mitigating factors at work in this story
She needs help, not the least of which is medical for the cancer, but also psychiatric for some emotional issues she's dealing with.
The fact that she lived with the animals after they died is very disturbing

[qanda]

3. That's a tough one. It's very hard to judge someone in those circumstances

I would think her mind was not right. I'm wondering why she had so many animals in the first place. Poor little creatures. This makes my heart sad.

[DrDan]

4. I see few parallels with the vick case

[atreides1]

5. Treat them the same as Vick

Give them a plum deal a few years in prison...and then probation.

After all, that's the definition by equal justice, right?:sarcasm: