So, first things first: Argos is fine! He went to the vet for his teeth cleaning today, and everything went smoothly. When I called them at 1:30 to get a status update, they reported that they'd already finished the procedure, and that he was awake. We could come get him at 3:30.
They had to pull two teeth, neither one of which was a surprise to me. Of course one of them was the one I'd noticed was loose.
Jeff went to get him at 3:30, and brought him home. By the time I got home, Argos trotted up to the door to greet me. Perhaps not quite as enthusiastically as usual, but his tail was wagging. He also immediately began begging for dinner. I gave him a half portion, which he gobbled. Per the vet's instructions, I observed him for half an hour to make sure that he wasn't going to be sick, then gave him the rest. Which he also gobbled.
So it all looks good.
And on to the rant. Apparently, some horrible person or persons have decided that it is a good idea to kill pet llamas in my part of the state. Douchebags.
I have to admit that I didn't even see that in the news until I saw that a good friend of mine posted about it on her blog: http://boadiccea.wordpress.com/2010/10/28/someone-is-killing-llamas-in-western-pa/
The type of person that would drive by someone's farm in the middle of the night, shoot a llama and drive off... I have no words for how much that person disgusts me. I don't give a crap who they are, what their so-called reasons were, I don't even give a crap if it was "just" a stupid teenager... that person deserves to be punished, and harshly. Not that it will happen. The wishy washy police will just start mouthing platitudes and statements like, "Well, it's just an animal" and give them a little slap on the wrist, if they get caught at all.
I hate senseless death, of any kind, and I abhor the idea that these innocent animals died just so that some douchebag could get his rocks off and pretend like he's some great hunter. Or whatever he (or she, I guess) thought he was doing. People like that are completely incapable of empathy and if caught, they should be locked up and kept locked up until at the very least, they learn enough empathy to keep them from running around the countryside taking potshots at family pets. If they never learn it, oh well, throw away the key and never let them enter society again.
I do hope that they catch the person/s that did it, and publicly announce their names. Because on top of whatever puny punishment that law enforcement gives them, I think a good public shaming goes a long way. And of course they should have their stupid guns taken away.
Update: Ah. They have a confession. It WAS in fact, a teenager. (I had a feeling on that one. It seemed like a stupid teenaged prank gone too far.) Which means that the public shaming route probably isn't going to fly.
http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/westmoreland/25547915/detail.html
I'm so disgusted by the Llama thing. There's a small zoo in town - not a zoo as much as a rehabilitation / sanctuary for animals that people are allowed to walk through (deer that were hit by cars, etc) and a few years ago, a few teenagers broke into the zoo at night and bludgeoned 8 birds to death. 4 ducks, 2 emus and 2 rheas. I don't know what the hell is wrong with them - I'm in my early 20s and never knew anyone, a teenager or otherwise, who would randomly kill animals, and so brutally, too. Makes me absolutely sick, and angry.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad Argos came through the dental okay!
ReplyDeleteAs for the llama killers, well, sadly, not much shocks me anymore. I'm glad they've been caught!
So pleased to hear Argos is ok.
ReplyDeleteHow can the killing of anything be called a prank???
Thanks, all! And I'm sure that it was only a prank in the eyes of the teens that committed the crime. I KNOW that the farmers and their children don't see it as such.
ReplyDeleteI really hope that the authorities actually take that seriously, and punish those teenagers to the point that they actually understand not to do anything remotely like that again. We'll see, I guess. I'm doubtful.
And that's terrible, about bludgeoning those poor birds to death. I don't know... aren't kids being taught empathy by their parents? I can't believe that any human being capable of any level of empathy would be capable of doing such a thing.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that Argo's dental went well.
ReplyDeleteWHat happened to the llama's is horrible, I hope the teenager's that did this are punished, which is an understatement!
I'm really disturbed by the fact that it was teenagers that did the llama killings. They should know better. If they did in fact know better then I fear for what they'll continue to do as adults if they don't get some sort of mental health evaluation. *shudder* Who kills for fun except psychopaths?
ReplyDeleteYay for Argos! I'm glad he is on his way to recovery.
ReplyDeleteThere is no understand that senseless act of violence. At all. I hope whatever judge is assigned to this teenager's case recognises the potential threat he poses to society. Killing llamas a kid can lead to a lot worse as an adult.
And those poor famers... My heart goes out to them. How much they must be missing their beloved pets.
ReplyDeleteThis is a sad story. At the end of the newscast it says they will have more later on why the two farms were targeted but I couldn't find anything on it. It is very sad that these young men made such a poor choice. It's not Russian roulette
ReplyDeletebut it could affect them for the rest of their lives. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1324860/Mexican-shot-dead-illegal-immigrant-refusing-turn-game-Russian-roulette.html?ito=feeds-newsxml . Who knows what makes people do what they do..