Need Help...Here's Help!

A lot of times people will witness animal cruelty and not even realize it. Or they will realize it but not know what to do about it. OR they will do something about it but go about it the wrong way! (scenarios...gotta love 'em!) Upon my research I came across the American Humane Association's website and within it I found a really cool page that had four different steps to reporting animal abuse. Those four steps are as follows:
1. Evaluate the situation
2. Report animals abuse
3. Understanding the law
4. Help prevent animal abuse
Personally, I think that numbers 2 and 3 should be switched because if a person doesn't first understand the laws about and around animal cruelty then they may go about reporting it wrong and the claim may never get investigated...and we can assume what happens to the animal if the claim never gets investigated.

Evaluating the situation can be tricky. Some key things you can look for are seeing if the animals collar is too tight. That can lead to strangulation. Also, just the appearance of the animal. Is it clean, does it look healthy, does it smell bad? All those are pretty easy to tell from afar. Is the animal constantly whining or growling or really acting strange in any way. Often times behavioral changes result from lack of love, care, and nourishment.

Reporting the abuse is pretty easy. If you have any suspicions you can always call your local animal control department or police department. But don't go around threatening your neighbor of being an animal killer because the one time you looked in the back yard the water bowl was empty. (YAY for more scenarios!) Thank God that society is really starting to recognize violence against animals as the big-scale problem that it is. This makes it easier for witnesses to be taken seriously with claims against people they know and see. Still, the laws vary from state to state so unfortunately we can't just throw them all behind bars or in a cage where they really belong.