What Being a Keyboard Warrior Does For Animal Welfare
I wanted to write about a cluster of issues that are pretty consistently discussed among dog owners, dog lovers and advocates, especially for bully breed dogs. I'm pretty burnt out on seeing people attack other people about ear cropping, like it is the most inhumane and unjust thing that animals ever have subjected to. It has become a disturbing trend on social media (but rarely happens in person because nobody has the guts to actually confront anyone face to face anymore) for people to lash out at someone who has a dog with cropped ears with the belief that doing this will benefit this dog, any other dog out there, or literally any situation, under any circumstance. In what situation does attacking someone on the internet in such a careless effort actually make a difference? Being an armchair activist, a keyboard warrior and a Google scholar as your troll the depths of Facebook and Instagram does NOTHING for animal welfare. The time spent copy pasting nasty comments could be spent actually doing something that will make a positive and productive impact.
On top of that, it just seems to be people getting bent out of shape about Pit Bulls and bully breeds having their ears cropped. I can only hope if someone is going to spend an extensive amount of time crusading for the ending of all ear cropping via aggressive comments on social media, they are being fair in dosing out their hate and they are visiting the pages of people who own all of the breeds of dogs who have their ears cropped and their tails docked.
Beyond the fact that sitting behind a phone and shaming others is highly unproductive and yields no legitimate change, as I see this happening, I think, “do people not realize that there are actual and real pressing forms of horrifying violence and abuse that dogs, especially pit bulls, face everyday?” I have seen horrible and unforgettable things in the years I have been involved with animal rescue. Sadly these are memories that will be burned into my brain until the day I die. I have seen dogs who have literally frozen to death in below zero weather, dogs that were starved, abandoned and neglected to the point which they collapsed and died. Dogs who were victims of dog fighting with deep puncture wounds and gashes all over their bodies and faces. Dogs who have had half of their faces and jaws torn off. Dogs with barb wire wrapped around their neck and feet. Dogs whose teeth were ground down with power tools so they could not fight back. Dogs with battery acid dumped all over their body, and dogs who had been lit on fire. I have seen dogs at shelters piled in cages, digging their nails into the floor as they’re dragged into the next room to take their last breath.
I have seen the result and aftermath of what real abuse and what real violence is, and I have lived it with my dogs and fosters that are survivors of dog fighting, starvation, abuse and neglect. As advocates and animal lovers we must realize what fights are worth our time and energy, because there big problems out there that truly deserve our attention and dedication. I think it is fair to say that vet performed ear cropping can either fall off or drop to the bottom of the list of issues that should keep us awake at night or drive us to personally attack someone for the way they are treating and caring for their animals. Wake up and fight for something that will make a difference.