If I had a dime for every animal I currently own in my house, I’d be $1.10 richer. That's not a lot to most of us. Do you want to know what else isn't a lot? The amount of animal cruelty cases reported yearly. Now, I want you to visualize, to feel what I’m about to say. How do you feel when you’re given cash? What emotions are going through your mind when you're handed that dollar bill with some leftover change from the couch that your parents gave you, because you wanted a candy bar? You probably feel elated, especially when you're a child and you have all of the freedom to pick whatever you want at the grocery store.

Dogs don't have that freedom… when they're forcefully put into fights to satisfy us. Why do we feel elated when we see that terrified pitbull risking her life to entertain and elate us when she spends years in turmoil developing what's known as post-traumatic stress-disorder. She fights every day just to keep herself alive for another day, even when she's lacking resources that she needs, like food, water, or shelter. She just wants to live. It's the dog’s fault, not the trainer, because whenever a dog with markings, scarrings, whiplashes, and a dog with that empty feeling in his heart can't take it anymore and decides to unleash his wrath on us for what we've done to him, the dog is instantly blamed and the owner is victimized. The circus animals, lions, horses, and strays are killed and shot because we accused them of doing something they should do. We're always taught to defend ourselves, so why can't they? “We don't want that kind of behavior at our petting zoo.” Animals are not hard-wired with aggression, they live in a dog-eat-dog world and they must defend themselves to stay alive. They're petrified and we still feel elated.

We have more rights compared to our feline and canine counterparts. They cannot consent to anything we make them do, they can't say “yes” or “no” to anything like we can. They can only express themselves through body language, and barking before we chose to silence them with a stick or a rod of metal as it penetrates against their skin. We spend our time posting follow-ups to idiotic trends or “cute” animal videos on social media platforms to appease our society, even if we can sense the distress and discomfort coming from the feline we call our very own. “It's just a prank! I didn't hurt him. I’ll prove to you she's alright.” We don't deserve the animals that were made to be our companions, because we will always take advantage of what we're given, like the self-absorbed people we are and always will be.

You might say, “I’m sorry for taking your scooter, Max. Can you forgive me? I promise I won't do it again.” You may extend your grubby hands towards Max and shake hands with him as if making amends. He's going to forgive you for your selfish, ignorant actions, because you're his friend. However, he won't ever forget that you took something from him and that will cause him to be cautious in the future of letting you use or borrow something. It's a similar concept with a pet. 

Buddy won't forget when you chained him to the tree in the yard eight hours ago before you left to go to work, only to come home and completely cast him out from your view, even though he was barking, crying, and begging for your attention. He won't forget all of the bypassers glancing at him in disgust and darting in the other direction as they noticed he was a pitbull with bloodshot eyes that read “temper”. Do you feel elated?

 Coco won't forget when she looked up at you eating the rib-eye steak and a side of mashed potatoes and carrots that made her pant or when she tried to alert you that she, too, had to consume a meal at least once in a twenty-four hour period to sustain herself, when you were occupied with a mobile device in your hands. She thought to herself, “What if I can just get a simple taste,” because you couldn't get up for one moment to fill a dog dish.  She was counting on you. Do you feel elated?

Toby won't forget whenever you dressed him in a green-ish outfit and threatened him with a sharp item that if he couldn't stand up on his hind legs and stand up long enough or perform tricks in front of your camera that you brought up so, so close to his face, that he could've bitten your hand off if he wanted to, and I wouldn't have blamed him. Do you feel elated, now?

If you tell me that they were asking for it, or that they were provoking your violent behavior, I would lock you in a cage of your own and throw away the key to your freedom, while I have all of the animals in the world beside me in a better reality, looking down at you, with superiority in their minds as they finally get to proclaim victory. We feel elated.