Animal abuse is out of control in the Pine Tree State. Perhaps this is true of other states as well, but because Mainers, in most cases, truly love and take care of their pets, cases of animal abuse receive much deserved public attention.

The number of abuses reported in recent months in Maine newspapers borders on the pandemic: a horse almost starved to death in Waldo County, a small dog beaten to the point of blindness in Canaan, a cat run over in its traveling cage as it’s delivering kittens because the driver was enraged by a quarrel with his girlfriend, and the case of a Fairfield man who beat a

4-month-old wolf-hybrid puppy to death – and subsequently failed to show up to begin serving his sentence.

Then there’s the recent report of 72 dogs being rescued from a kennel in Hudson, and maybe worst of all, the seizure of 49 cats from a mobile home in Lagrange, every one of which had to be euthanized because of feline diseases. The list goes on and on.

There are, of course, occasional heartwarming stories like the recent Bangor Daily News front-page report of a young soldier, Jesse Cote of Caribou, who returned from active duty in Iraq with a young cat befriended by the soldier’s unit, the Maine Army National Guard 152nd Field Artillery Battalion. That was a real heartwarmer and, deservedly, received front-page coverage.

Both Cote and his parents, Brenda and Ron, who traveled to Kennedy International Airport in New York to bring the cat home to Caribou, are to be commended for their altruistic gesture.

There are also feel-good wildlife rescue tales such as the recent one about a gray seal named Morris, found abandoned in Bass Harbor, rehabilitated in Bar Harbor and finally returned to the ocean. That was a real picker-upper for animal lovers.

But back to the abusers. Animal rescue personnel have written volumes about so-called animal hoarders: people who, with the best of intentions, collect stray and feral animals and attempt to give them a loving home.

In most cases, the people are financially strapped and can’t afford to provide the necessary veterinary services for the animals, so the menagerie goes without proper vaccinations and medical treatment, including spaying and neutering. The animals continue to reproduce with the result that kittens and puppies, in most cases, struggle to survive. There are many documented cases of this tragic situation occurring.

Local newspapers are to be commended for, disturbing as they are, reporting these stories of animal abuse. The public must be made aware of what is becoming a ubiquitous problem in the state of Maine.

Local animal shelters need our help – desperately. This is particularly true of the Kennebec Valley (in Augusta) and Bangor Humane societies, both of which stepped in when the

49-cats and 72-dog disaster occurred.

These animal shelters depend on unsolicited contributions to carry on their work. While all of us animal lovers receive countless requests for contributions at the national level, a number of animal-welfare supporters have strongly recommended sending contributions at the local level. These are the people, in many cases, who are operating on a shoestring budget and depend upon volunteer help with the animals in order to stay in operation.

One national organization worthy of public support is the Animal Legal Defense Fund, a group working hard to make cases of animal abuse a felony at every state level. Support of the fund entitles the contributor to a sticker with the message “Abuse an Animal- Go to Jail.” I display my sticker proudly on the window of my car because I truly believe such defense of animals should become a law in every state.

We should be grateful for the work being done in the name of animal survival at all local shelters. Given the unbelievable tragedy of the recent tsunami in Asia and the financial support provided by millions of people, we have learned what can happen when a natural disaster strikes. While there will never be such a demonstration for the thousands of unloved, unwanted animals in the world, we should, nonetheless, do as much for them as our financial circumstances permit.

Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia tells a poignant story about a 4-year-old boy who participated in a contest for 4- to 8-year olds. They were presented with the question, “What does love mean?” The winner responded that when he saw his neighbor crying, a man whose wife had just died, he climbed onto his neighbor’s lap and just sat there.

The boy’s mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor. “Nothing,” said the little boy. “I just helped him cry.”

Animal lovers are like that: We are both the gentleman-neighbor who feels a great loss when we hear about an abused animal, even if the animal doesn’t die as a result. We are also like the little boy because, when animals are abused, we feel helpless. Sometimes all we can do is cry.

Ralph Pettie is a retired teacher living in Blue Hill.