Cat Abuse Case Is Example of Bigger Problem

With a swing of his hand, a 38-year-old man broke the jaw and damaged the teeth of his young, male victim.

Instead of being rushed to a hospital, however, the bony and malnourished victim was taken to a local veterinary clinic for treatment.

The beating of Boots the cat, authorities say, exemplifies the common problem of people abusing and neglecting animals. Each year the city of Los Angeles’ Department of Animal Services conducts 6,000 humane investigations.

“Animals are by and large extremely trusting and defenseless creatures,” said Peter V. Persic, a department spokesman. “Unfortunately, it’s often easy to take advantage of those traits.”

The abuse of animals, according to Persic, ranges from people using kittens and other small animals as training victims for fighting dogs to pet owners failing to buy a bigger collar for a growing puppy.

In the latter case, Persic said, dogs have had to be put to death because of severe damage to the animals’ tracheas.

“It’s a form of abuse that’s based in neglect,” Persic said. “I would say we see this more often than actual cruelty cases.”

In the case of Boots the kitty, police arrested William A. Painter on Dec. 28 at his Burbank apartment after he admitted he hit his 6-year-old daughter’s pet cat with an open hand. He asked the arresting officers, “What was wrong with hitting a cat?”

Painter’s wife told police that her husband was enraged by Boots’ plaintive wails as Painter watched television and that she heard the cat hissing and thrashing and her husband screaming in another room.

After pleading guilty to willful animal cruelty, Painter was sentenced to 30 days in jail, ordered to perform 80 hours of Caltrans work, pay $300 to the Burbank animal shelter and attend six months of weekly anger management sessions.

No other charges are pending against Painter, according to authorities, and the investigation has been closed.

Persic said that due to limited staffing, his department relies on tips from the public in possible animal abuse cases.

The reports are taken seriously, he added, because “people who abuse animals will sometimes also move on to humans.”

In fact, Persic said field officers from his department attend training seminars aimed at identifying and reporting child abuse so they may report to police suspected child abuse they encounter during their animal investigations.

The American Humane Assn. has also tried to promote public awareness of what the association describes as “the cycle of violence to children and animals” through its “Campaign Against Violence.”

According to a 1983 study cited in a campaign brochure, of 57 families being treated for incidents of child abuse, 88% of the families also abused animals; and in two-thirds of the cases it was the abusive parent who had killed or injured the animals to control a child. In one-third of the cases, the children had abused the animals, using them as scapegoats for their anger, the study found.

The bottom line, said Persic, is that people need to think long and hard before bringing a pet into their home.

“It’s like having a child,” Persic said. “You need to make sure it has shelter, food, water, medical care and that you have patience to deal with it. It’s a long commitment.

“Our shelters are full of animals that people obtained on a whim that they thought they wanted and then turned in.”