To Fight Animal Cruelty, You Need To Know What Abuse Looks Like

It can be difficult to imagine that anyone would want to harm a pup, but sadly, it does happen. In order to fight animal cruelty, we need to recognize what that abuse looks like.

The first form of animal cruelty is animal neglect, which involves not giving a fur ball sufficient care. This may be unintentional and done due to ignorance and lack of awareness. A pup without enough food, water, or shelter for the weather or who isn’t given enough of these needs is facing neglect. This also goes for pups with medical problems that are not treated due to lack of funds, ignorance, or not caring. It’s also a form of animal neglect to have too many pets to take care of.

Animal abuse is the other form of animal cruelty, which involves violent or cruel actions performed with intent. This includes beating, burning, or harming a pup on purpose. Dog fighting is also considered abuse. It’s worth noting that homes with abusive pups are more likely to have abused children, and that those who abuse animals may be violent towards others.

If you’re concerned that an animal may be facing cruelty, look for these signs:

• Wounds, or scars that represent wounds that have healed.
• Chronic injuries or medical conditions that are going untreated.
• Malnutrition, emaciation, an extremely thin body, or extreme weakness.
• An infestation of pests.
• Extreme lack of grooming.
• Being left out without shelter, or being tied up outside for a long time.
• A too-small cage, or a collar and chain or leash that are too tight.
• A dirty environment where the animal lives.
• Violence from owners towards pets – in which case, you can record the incident for proof or call 911 immediately.

Let’s do our best to keep pups – and all animals – safe from harm and cruelty that they do not deserve. Like and share away!