Victims without voices: pets suffer at owner's hands
By: Elliott Wardlow
Issue date: 12/3/09 Section: News
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.
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.