Dogs poisoned to death during dispute
Fullerton, CA (US)Incident Date: Sunday, May 18, 2008
County: Orange
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: 14 year old girl
The criminal charge facing a 14-year-old girl accused of poisoning her family's dogs is one that raises special concern among psychiatrists and social workers: cruelty to animals.
To them, animal cruelty is one of the red-flag warnings of someone with deep emotional problems and the potential to lash out even more in the future.
"It's certainly something that would make you worry," said Dr. Lawrence Budner, a child and adolescent psychiatrist in Santa Ana. He was not familiar with the Fullerton case and declined to comment on it; but cruelty to animals, he said, “is not a good sign for the future.”
Police in Fullerton believe the 14-year-old girl fed prescription pain medication to her family's two dogs after a fight with her parents over her grades. Her parents had left her alone on Sunday to attend an evening baseball game; they returned home to find their dogs coughing up bits of cheese and blood.
The dogs " a Yorkie and a larger dog " later died at an emergency pet clinic.
Police did not release the girl’s identity because of her age. But Sgt. Mike MacDonald said he did not think she had any criminal record. He also said he was not aware of any past problems at school.
Last month, in a case that received national attention, a 19-year-old Anaheim man was charged with six counts of animal cruelty because of a video posted on the Internet. The video allegedly shows the man, Joseph Anthony Deiss, swinging a pug by its legs and repeatedly throwing a rabbit into the air.
Mental-health experts said they could not comment directly on the Fullerton case without more information. But they said cruelty to animals often signals an aggressive behavioral problem and is always cause for concern.
Several studies have linked childhood animal abuse to adult crimes. A report issued in 2001 by the U.S. Department of Justice estimated that more than a quarter " and possibly as many as two-thirds " of violent adult offenders had also abused animals.
Psychiatrists consider animal cruelty one of the diagnostic signs of a behavioral problem known as "conduct disorder." People with the disorder are hyper-aggressive and bullying, and can turn to physical violence as they get older.
Animal cruelty "usually is a warning sign that maybe other, more serious things are going on," said Frank Ascione, a psychology professor at Utah State University who wrote the 2001 Justice Department report.
Parents, he added, should monitor what their children are doing and keep the lines of communication open. “Being able to really know what’s going on in your kid’s head is really the best advice you can give,” he said.
Parents should also watch for outward signs of cruelty to animals, experts said. A toddler pulling on a dog's tail is one thing; a child bullying a dog and seeming to enjoy it is reason to worry. References« CA State Animal Cruelty Map
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