Ahh, sorry. Yes poor Lucie has had tons of things wrong with her over the years (that's inbreeding on a farm for you) and she has cost me A LOT of money over the years. At one point my OH had been made redundant and we had 3 cats and 4 rats. The rats needed surgery for growths. We went without in order to pay for treatment for the animals. I just think this woman could have done a lot more for her animals, and she's not prepared to accept that.

No worries. It used to break my heart what they said about Sheba, to the point that when she did pass one of the things I felt profoundly was a relief that people could no longer hurt me that way.

And I definitely agree with you, I would go to the ends of the earth for my pets, or wildlife for that matter too.

yes, precisely - the intention is immaterial to the outcome.
whether we MEANT to be deliberately cruel, or were simply casually cruel, or ignorant eejits,
the animal suffers just the same - & this is a HUGE, huge legal problem in the USA.

many old animal-welfare laws specify that cruelty must be 'intentional' to be prosecuted.
now how the H*** do U prove someone's 'intention' after the fact?! it's infuriating.

many cases of felony-cruelty cannot be prosecuted, simply because the prosecutor & judge
are not mind-readers. it's dreadful.

most animal-welfare laws in the USA are decades out of date, & desperately need revision.

__________________
terry pride, APDT-Aus, apdt#1827, CVA, TDF
*wolves R wolves, dogs R dogs, + primates R us.*
tmp, sept-2007