Monsters and Angels

Both walk this earth among us

Which of the two are you?

There are many monsters living among us who cause pain and harm to innocent people, as well as to innocent, defenseless animals.

Thankfully, there are also angels living among us who try to help; but it seems that the monsters far outnumber the angels these days.

Recently, a terrified feline cowered defensively, head down, trying to make herself as small as possible, as four ruthless boys in their mid-teens threw rocks and lighted matches at her. Cornered, defenseless, and hurt, neither flight nor fight from her heartless tormenters was possible for this innocent creature near a cemetery outside of Philadelphia.

Fortunately, a 17-year-old girl was passing by; a girl with plenty of compassion in her heart.

She was horrified when she saw the pitiful brown and tan cat being tortured so mercilessly.

Without a thought to her own safety, this brave young woman yelled at the four boys, and being the cowards that they were, they quickly backed down.

And, this innocent cat was saved from an excruciating death by stoning and fire.

The courageous girl, who is too shy to have her name used, at the time didn't know how badly the nameless 3-year-old cat was hurt.

She saw the terrible bald spots burned into the cat's fur by the matches; she saw the lumps and bruises on its shaking terrified body, but she didn't know just how much pain this innocent creature had suffered, or how many of its fragile bones had been broken.

This compassionate young woman brought the trembling cat home to care for it, but eventually its extensive wounds made it necessary to bring it to the Philadelphia Animal Care and Control Association.

Several veterinarians agreed to care for the cat under reduced "rescue rates."

This poor tortured creature was found to have a broken tooth with the root exposed, a shattered pelvis, a dislodged bone sticking into her rectum - and a metal BB gun pellet lodged deep inside her spine.

And this feline is nameless no more.  She is now called ‘Sugar Raye,’ in part due to her sweet disposition, in part due to her courageous fighting spirit.  She easily could have been dead by now, but she definitely showed the toughness of another, different Sugar Ray.

Thankfully, there are still some angels walking among us who try to ease the pain and repair the harm of earth’s many monsters.  But we need many more angels if the dire plight of millions of our innocent unfortunate neighbors is to be alleviated any time soon.

If you would like to be an angel this Holiday Season, please visit your local homeless shelter or animal shelter and find out what you can do to help.

The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty estimates that there are over 3 million homeless men, women, and children in America today.

The Humane Society of the United States estimates that each year over 6 million unwanted, abused, and woefully neglected pets are euthanized.

And please report any and all animal abuse you encounter to the proper authorities.

Life truly is precious – to all living creatures.