Too sick for words

Something to Tivo tonight, to watch after the sparkly costumes of figure skating are but pleasant memories.

"Dealing Dogs," a film to be broadcast tonight on HBO, documents the project that was designed to expose the kennel's inhumane treatment of dogs and violations of the law. The investigation was initiated by Last Chance for Animals, a Los Angeles-based animal-rights group.

The operation resulted in the closing of Martin Creek Kennel and also in one of the largest victories ever for animal rights advocates.

Each year, 42,000 dogs are sold to veterinary schools and research labs by so-called Class B dealers (brokers and auction operators), according to information gathered by the filmmakers and the advocates at Last Chance. Under federal law, those dealers are required to buy animals from reputable breeders, shelters or pounds and to treat them humanely. But animal rights groups have long contended that the animals are often stolen pets, bought from illegitimate sources or abused. The investigation by Pete, which began in late 2001 and ended in April 2002, caught the dealers in the act.

Pete's camera reveals a kaleidoscope of horrors: dogs covered with wounds from fighting with other dogs over food; workers striking dogs. He discovers that dogs with heartworm, an easily treated disease, were killed and their heartworms sold to researchers. At one point, he leads the investigators working with him to a table soaked in blood and a grassy field scattered with dog parts and rotting corpses.

The film also shows a woman named Elaine, who admits that she illegally sold enough dogs to Martin Creek Kennel's owner to pay off her mortgage. Some of the dogs were stolen, she said, and no questions were ever asked.

"I feel guilty; Bob doesn't," she says, referring to her husband. "He likes the money. But I think, 'That could be a child's dog.' "

Dick Cheney's weekend outing in which he shot an old man in the face at close range has raised the debate over hunting essentially defenseless birds. For instance, is there something inherently wrong in blasting them away by the dozens so's he can relax from the pressures of killing Iraqis by the thousands? I don't really have an issue with hunting -- I am a great lover of animal flesh, I admit -- but I simply do not understand wanton cruelty to animals. Profit motive doesn't explain it to me. These people are sick. And when you think about cruelty to dogs -- an animal that has thrived in the company of humans by adapting to live with us (or, some would say, take advantage of us) -- you have to wonder, how fucked up are these people? And how many of them does it take before you lose all hope for our fucked up species?