Senior Project Interview

Interviewee: Kathy Lula

Questions & Answers:

1. What is animal cruelty to you?

"Animal cruelty is when someone physically hurts an animal or leaves them to suffer in any possible way".

2. How are you affected by this ongoing issue?

"I am personally affected by animal cruelty because a dog that I got from the pound won't show any signs of affection towards me and seems scared by anything and everything that I do. I assumed that it must have been traumatized by its past owner. I can see the hurt in my dog, Spike. Even after months of owning him, he still hasn't adjusted. The abuse he was put through affected him tremendously and caused him to be fearful of everything around him".

3. How long has your dog been affected?

"Well, I got the dog about 6 months ago and since the first day I got him he has always been the same. He only comes to me when he needs me, such as to let him out back, or to get him some food".

4. Do you think this is a serious problem?

"This is a very serious problem because I believe animals should be treated like children. We have pets to have fun with and to love, and we shouldn't be hurting animals under any circumstance. Animal abuse is one of the worst things someone could do because I feel that animals are innocent, just like young children. Also, animal cruelty has affected the lives of many pets and their loving owners."

5. Is there any way animal cruelty can be taken care of? Or can it just be improved?

"I believe there really isn't any way animal cruelty can be fully taken care of only because there will always be that one person who won't care, although we can try to prevent animal cruelty as much as possible".

6. How do you feel about those who physically hurt animals?

"I can never relate to those people and when I look at them, I look at them with disgust thinking to myself, "how could they do that to something so innocent"?"

7. Would you ever hurt an animal for any reason?

"No, it would never feel right to intentionally hurt another living creature".

8. Do you think active or passive cruelty is worse? Or are they both equal?

"I think that they are both equally considered abuse and shouldn't be resorted to".

9. Do you know anyone who conducts animal abuse?

"I have had a friend in the past that would gently hit her dog whenever he did something wrong. When I was around, I told her how I felt about the problem and how it can possibly traumatize her pet. After the talk we had, she has moved on to disciplining her dog in other ways".

10. How can you help make a difference in trying to prevent animal cruelty?
"I can help by educating my friends and family more about the effects of animal cruelty and what it is really doing to our society. Also, anytime I see an animal who is being abused I will make an effort to put an end to it."