Finally the word is getting out, the sad and disturbing truth about what happens down along the banks of the muddy river that borders this town. The media has taken notice, but for the longest time no one wanted to know, after all, it was just some stray dogs, a problem in every town, but those that knew kept speaking, shining a sliver of light in a dark corner. Unfortunately, most of the corner is still dark and what’s still writhing in the dark should terrify us all. The world is full of dark corners.

Almost a hundred dogs have been found alive, abandoned and starving, obviously used for breeding or fighting, some with collars still on, a few with puppies, others with gunshot wounds, and one or two with broken bones from being tossed from moving cars. Unbelievably, they are the lucky ones. Others were found dead, tortured and dismembered, scattered across the ground or in bags, these were killed for fun by someone who is still out there going about their regular day. I pray these individuals have no access to children.

There are those that say it’s a wasted effort, that the people who do these awful things will just do them somewhere else, but it goes deeper than animal cruelty. People that abuse and abandon animals need power; they need to be able to hurt other living things to feel in control. When the need to hide their animal cruelty ebbs, you can be sure they have moved on to the weak and helpless humans in their lives, evil has an ever increasing appetite and a need to be acknowledged.

I don’t have many answers, most days none at all and it feels like treading water and never moving forward, but I have to believe it all matters, that every step leads somewhere. Maybe with the smallest of actions it begins, a hungry dog is fed, an abuser is held accountable, a child is spared, a cycle is broken and the darkness begins to recede, one corner at a time.

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