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A writer by passion and profession, I've been writing since I was old enough to know how, so establishing a weblog
seemed a natural progression. By adding a blog to my site, I can speak about my passions and life, share my writing, art
and photos, and comment on current events.
Tuesday, July 08, 2003
Yes, I said '8-Year-Old' This article appeared in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel:
The striped kitten, now named Tippy, suffered a fractured skull and a fractured palate. But it is on the mend and looking for a good home through Cats Exclusive...
Deputies sent to the complex to investigate reports of children hurting an animal arrived to find a battered kitten lying in the grass.
It was bleeding from its mouth and nose and was having trouble breathing. It was rushed to Coral Springs Animal Hospital for treatment.
...Witnesses said the 8-year-old had found the kitten in some bushes, picked it up, swung it by its tail, then slammed the stunned animal into the ground. Then the boy fled.
Detectives talked to the boy and his mother, who lived near the playground, and he admitted hurting the kitten. He also said he did it because he was bored. He was charged with animal cruelty, a third-degree felony.
I vaguely recall being 8 years old. It involved playing on swingsets (Jungle Gyms), jumping rope, reading books, coloring with crayons, playing Barbies, making dandelions into necklaces, riding bikes, swimming at my friend's house, or even spacing out watching cartoons and the Little Rascals on TV (at the time, at least in my house, didn't have a VCR or video games yet).
Do you know what it didn't involve? If you guessed torturing a kitten nearly to death, you'd be correct. Sadly, this isn't the only such case I've read of recently. Just two weeks ago WPBF-TV in West Palm Beach (Florida again?!) reported on another pair of 8-year-olds...
Police were called when residents of a West Palm Beach neighborhood said they saw two 8-year-old boys drowning kittens in a backyard pool.
...Reporter Terri Parker said that for one of the boys involved Friday, this allegedly wasn't the first kitten killing. Parker said she found one of the boys' parents at home a few houses down. The boy's father, Elisma Soufrence, said his son didn't put the cat in the water.
Soufrence and the boy's mother, Alleen Soufrence, told Parker they blamed the other boy, who they said had killed two of their own kittens a few weeks ago. They said that because of that, they now keep the mother cat and remaining kitten inside.
Have times changed so much? Have children become so heartless and cruel? Eight is old enough to know right and wrong. If these children are so callous and casually violent at 8, how will they behave at 18?
UPDATE JULY 8TH: There is updated cover of the story on News4Jax in Florida, which includes an interview with the accused, Elijah, and his aunt. When asked by the reporter if he meant to hurt the cat, he replied "yes." His aunt says he needs counseling but he's "just 8 years old" and doesn't need a charge like that. She says: "They're treating him like a criminal..." Um, DUH!
