Experts Say Animal Abuse Can Be a Warning Sign

In the past two years a dog was kicked repeatedly causing neighbors to come to the animals defense, another dog was thrown from a car on I-95, more than 100 animals were seized from a local kennel due to neglect, a family canine was poisoned, another dog was found scalded, multiple dogs’ remains were found burned in a park and three pit bulls were found emaciated and ill near an elementary school. A teacher saw them and gave the animals her lunch. One died in the care of animal control, another would have died except for the generosity of a local animal welfare group. The two surviving have new homes and new lives.


These are examples of an exponentially increasing trend of very troubled individuals who abuse animals and frequently move on abusing, and in some cases killing people.


The statistics are overwhelming. In a 1997 study by the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, reported as the first study of its kind, looked at the link between cruelty to animals and crime.


Reported results showed that 70 percent of individuals who abuse animals are also involved in other violent crimes. The study also showed when a person commits animal abuse they are five times more likely to commit violence against people, four times more likely to commit property crimes and three times more likely to be involved in drunken or disorderly offenses.


Dr Jon Bloch, chairman of the Sociology Department at Southern Connecticut State University said while society now might be paying more attention to animal abuse, it has been occurring for a very long time.


“In the bigger picture, it has been going on for a long time. We are paying more attention (these days),” Bloch said.


“Animal fights have been common for centuries,” Bloch pointed out such as NFL quarterback Michael Vick who was imprisoned for operating a dog fighting circuit.


“We don’t have accurate records of what used to happen,” Bloch said.


Bloch also said there are other forms of animal abuse.


“There are the PETA issues such as pig farming which are arguably cruel.”


Milford-based Clinical Psychologist Suzanne Hecht said animal abuse is “violence against the helpless.”


“(It is) Taking your frustrations out on the vulnerable and weak.”


Bloch concurs with her observation.


“People take out (their frustrations) on dogs and children,” he said.


Alison Gianotto, a presenter at Best Friends Animal Society, “No More Homeless Forum,” in Kanub, Utah, said most cases of pet abuse go unnoticed.


Gianotto is also the director and founder of Pet-Abuse.Com, an organization that tracks animal cruelty cases and animal abusers.


Gianotto said there is a direct link between animal cruelty and interpersonal violence. She said the connection to that abuse is often missed in one’s own home and environment. She points out examples such as the abuser who tortures the family pet as a controlling device, the abused child who vents his anger and frustration on animals to help regain personal control, and the neighborhood bully who uses dog fights to infuse a level of fear in the neighborhood by patrolling with fighting dogs.


Legendary violent offenders have also been known to abuse animals in their younger years.


Albert DeSalvo, the “Boston Strangler” who killed 13 women, trapped dogs and cats in orange crates and shot arrows through the boxes in his youth.


Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer reportedly had impaled dogs’ heads, frogs, and cats on sticks.


The Humane Society of the United States offers similar findings that animal cruelty cases frequently reveal individuals involved in criminal activity and can reveal victims of family violence upon investigation. Animal cruelty is a frequently missed warning sign for at-risk behavior.


A 2002 FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin examined the connection between cruelty to animals and violent behavior in a report, “Animal Abuse and Youth by The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.”


Bloch said the FBI uses animal cruelty in their violent behavior profile.


Both Bloch and Hecht caution that not every childhood act means a child is going to turn out to harm people.


“It doesn’t mean they will become a criminal, but people who grow up to be a sociopath with no empathy for others, they may just grow up to be cruel to people,” Bloch said.


“However, most children love animals and get excited to go to someone’s home to play with their animals,” Bloch said.


During this past February legislative session, Connecticut was poised to join a handful of other states to require cross reporting of child abuse and animal cruelty cases with the state Department of Families and Children and the state Department of Agriculture, which oversees the local animal shelters, about homes where pets might also be vulnerable to maltreatment. California, Colorado, Ohio and Maine already have similar laws.


The measure did not pass.


To report suspected child or animal abuse, contact your local police department.