Animal Chaplain meet Jay Anderson

Some interesting thoughts from a self-described Animal Chaplain appeared in the comments box recently. Is it useful to compare dog-fighting and abortion? What do you think?

I think it is a sad commentary that we, as a culture, our using the Vick story to compare "What's worse?" "What's worse", we ask, " carelessly fathering illegitimate children, or dogfighting?". "Dogfighting or rape?" "Dogfighting or racism?" "Dogfighting or hateful nationalism?" "Dogfighting or (fill in the blank)....?"

Dogfighting is one more piece of evidence our country is in need of a spiritual transformation (please note I said spiritual and not necessarily religious). Animals are sentient beings - they feel pain, and they suffer, just like we do. They are not more important, or less important than human beings, but like human beings, they are important, too.

Every major faith teaches its followers to be responsible stewards of animals and the Earth. Please help us get the word out that caring for animals, just like caring for people, is an important part of just being a decent person and citizen. If we make this a priority, there will be no more dogfighting horror stories, and no more pointless comparisons of evils. Let us all rise, together, to be better people than we are today, shall we?

Chaplain Nancy CronkFounder, AnimalChaplains.com

But over at Pro Ecclesia * Pro Familia * Pro Civitate we have Jay Anderson saying this:

... Imagine that. Me? Say something controversial?

Well, here goes:

I do not believe that Michael Vick, disgusting and inhumane as his actions were, should get any prison time. An 18-month suspended sentence with probation, a hefty fine, and something like 1000 hours of community service in a local animal shelter seems to me to be an appropriate penalty.

And frankly, I can't justify a prison sentence for Michael Vick while that thug Ray Lewis is walking around a free man.