I was trolling the news for the inspiration for my next column when I found it.

Hundreds of snakes, dead, dying and a few living were found abandoned in William Buchman’s home in Santa Ana, California, according to CNN.com.

The article goes on to explain that neighbors complained of a horrible stench coming from Buchman’s house. Police obtained a search warrant, raided the home, and found the hundreds of serpents.

Now I know a lot of people don’t find snakes appealing, and I get that. But the point is how extremely wrong  it is to let these animals die and have no problem with it.

Animal cruelty is an act as serious as child abuse or kidnapping.

There are so many different cases of animal cruelty reported every single day. There were a total of 1,880 cruelty cases reported in 2007. 64.5% (1,212) involved dogs,18% (337) involved cats and 25% (470) involved other animals, according to humanesociety.org 

Animal abuse ranges from forgetting to feed a pet once or twice to physical harm to complete abandonment.

Lets play vise versa, shall we?

Imagine me being a year old. My mother and father abandon me, and they leave me with nothing. What’s going to happen to me? Assuming no one knows where I am, I’m helpless. I cannot fend for myself. I can’t feed myself. I can’t do anything.

Now, I’m slowly getting weaker and sicker and eventually, I die. 

Could I help myself? No. Could I get a hold of someone to tell them to help me? No.

That is the position these abused and abandoned  animals are in. They have no way to live when they’re kept in horrible conditions and treated like garbage. When these dogs, cats, snakes, etc. are left to die, they can’t do anything to save themselves from death.

We need to do something about this. If you know about a breeder or hoarder or just someone who can’t take care of their pets, report it. The Humane Society of Missouri is located at 1201 Macklind Ave, St Louis, MO 63110. Their phone number is (314) 647-8800.

Those animals will be saved and given a second chance in life.

The next time I see a stray on the street or maybe a mother cat and kittens living in an alleyway by my house, I will call the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and get that furry family a way to be taken care of. The ASPCA in Chesterfield Valley is open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m to 6 p.m. and can be contacted at (636) 530-0806.

I’m a strong believer in the saying, “Animals are people, too.” If you saw an infant on the sidewalk, would you leave it there and not contact anyone? My guess is no. The treatment of animals should be no different.