Court Rules Against Local Pet Owner’s Religious Claims

By Barbara Schwarz, NewsRadio 1080 KRLD

July 28, 2011 11:45 PM

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Fort Worth, God, Humane Society, pet, Veterinary medicine

Court Rules Against Local Pet Owners Religious Claims

A doggie face. (credit: Anwar Amro/AFP/Getty Images)

FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – Fort Worth resident Charles Myers told the Second District Court of Appeals Thursday that his 2009 conviction of misdemeanor cruelty to an animal violated the constitution and his religious beliefs.

As his argument, he quoted the bible and said the judgment violated the Christian command to trust God’s power to heal.

Tammy Holly with the Humane Society of North Texas says she has no clue why people go to such extremes. “Quoting the bible, saying that God was somehow going to take care of it without his help. That’ just not realistic.”

KRLD’s Barbara Schwarz reports

According to court documents, Myers reclaimed a dog from a shelter…then did not take get it veterinary care after it got sick.

Myers also told the court the cruelty charge was unconstitutional.

http://dallasforme.com/2011/07/fw-appeals-court-rules-against-pet-owners-religious-claims/ FW Appeals Court Rules Against Pet Owner?s Religious Claims — Me and the Chicks

[...] of misdemeanor cruelty to an animal violated the constitution and his religious beliefs. As [...] More from: http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2011/0… PreviousPost [...]
http://fortworthinsight.com/news/fw-appeals-court-rules-against-pet-owner%e2%80%99s-religious-claims/ FW Appeals Court Rules Against Pet Owner’s Religious Claims « Fort Worth News Feeds

[...] FW Appeals Court Rules Against Pet Owner’s Religious Claims FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – Fort Worth resident Charles Myers told the Second District Court of Appeals Thursday that his 2009 conviction of misdemeanor cruelty to an animal violated the constitution and his religious beliefs. As [...] Go to News Source [...]
http://ethicalfutures.wordpress.com HooDatIS?

how u gone charge this man for not taking a pet to the vet if he had a kid and didnt take it to the clinic not one person would say anyhting was wrong
http://ethicalfutures.wordpress.com

OneShotOneKill

i hope you don’t have any pets, and never get any. i also hope that reading through these comments will help your grammer and spelling.

C Bauer

GRAMMER! LOL Classic fail! It’s GRAMMAR. Perhaps YOU also need a brush up on your spelling. Yes?
C Bauer

You also need to capitalize the beginning of your sentences, genius.

AC

“Quoting the bible, saying that God was somehow going to take care of it without his help. That’ just not realistic.”

Is this not the core value of Christans?

I am confused

RussP

The courts have often ruled against parents who try to withold needed medical care on religious grounds. Hoping and praying for some miracle cure while disregarding medical treatment is not realistic nor is it rational.

Hello Newman

St. Luke was a physician. Enough said. God, if there is one, didn’t want us to rely solely on him for everything. That’s why we have free will and brains (well, at least some of us for the latter).

2sister

Actually, that’s a misuse of the Scripture, AC. The Bible doesn’t say we can’t go to the doctor. In fact, that might be how God is taking care of the illness. Some people believe it’s a lack of faith to go to the doctor. I don’t.

Also, the Bible says not to test God. Satan told Jesus to drop off a pinnacle. He misused a scripture where it talks about how God wouldn’t allow harm to come to Jesus. Jesus quoted the scripture about not testing God.

I’m not saying that sometimes people don’t get better in spite of medical help. I have a loved one that nearly died two times. The doctors didn’t seem to think there was much hope. There were a lot of prayers said, and she got better. I think God provided all of the help, including the medical help that the doctors gave her.
Ann Tucker

@AC” A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. ”
Proverbs 12:10
It is the core value of Christianity

http://dallasforme.com/2011/07/court-rules-against-local-pet-owners-religious-claims-4/ Court Rules Against Local Pet Owner?s Religious Claims — Me and the Chicks

[...] of misdemeanor cruelty to an animal violated the constitution and his religious beliefs. As [...] More from: http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2011/0… PreviousPost [...]
Richard

Give me 5 min with this clown and he will be picking up strays to take to the vet

Jerry h

Give me 2 min with you and I will make u want to eat dog meat……….an animal is just an animal………no more no less…………big diff between animals and humans……….u liberals make me sick

2sister

Jerry, God still expects us not to act cruelly to animals in an abusive way. That has nothing to do with being a liberal or a conservative. Also, this guy wasn’t trying to eat an animal for food. He was allowing it to suffer in pain. Those are two different issues.
aerie

What an ignorant, uneducated comment; and your pathological lack of empathy is quite disturbing. Most of us can show and feel compassion for humans *and* animals. Obviously, your tiny brain is incapable of complex thought processes. We all share a common ancestor with apes – whether you like it or not.

The big difference between animals and humans is that most humans suck – you, for example. Now scurry on back to the trailer park and under the rock from which you crawled.

A. Theist

Typical religious nut. This is what “faith” in NOTHING gets you.

Christopher Allen

I’m sorry you don’t believe in anything outside of the “visual” or “physical” to your 5 senses. That’s not the issue here. Yes, some people take God’s true words to extreme to fit their lifestyle, and not how God truly meant for it to be applied to our daily lives.
Just like the Pharohses (yes, I don’t know how to spell it, my bad LOL) took everything to be abstract and litteral.

I feel sorry for this guy that yes, we do our part to help others (humans & animals), and when there is nothing else we can do (i.e. cant take to doctor, or medical help), then we ask for God’s help.

Animals are God’s creatures too, just like us, his children.

A. Theist

It’s Pharisees. I also know about the Saducees, the Penateuch, the Sanhedrin, etc. I went to Hebrew school before I was converted and “saved” and let down by that faith as well. I studied ancient Hebrew and ancient Greek, and I’ve digested all 66 books in detail. It’s all BS.
NiteNurse

I believe all humans are spiritual to some degree but religion was developed as a way of making ignorant people obey certain rules and laws by saying God commanded them to do so. It was good because many people would be out of control if they didn’t fear punishment from a God of some sort. The problem we run into now is that EVERYONE has their own interpertation of religion and it isn’t always a good thing for both humans and animals. Now let’s all pray that God will stop allowing stupid people to be born.

T.J. Ware

We almost never took a dog to the vet when I was growing up. If you own that dog you should have the right to do as you wish with it. We kill 3000 babies in abortion clinics every day in this country and you crazy animal-worshipers care more about some dog that isn’t even yours. That’s what is wrong with our country.

Wingmaster

I spent $1900 on my GSP bird dog. Do I take him to the vet for regular check ups? You bet your ass I do. I take him because he’s an awesome dog, but I also want to make sure that $1900 investment goes as far as it can go. There’s a lot of years of love (and pheasants) to enjoy!

Texasmathwhiz

Whether you believe in God or not, which I strongly do, there is a moral sense of compassion for all living creatures that should be upheld. How sad that someone would be so selfish and self-righteous that they would let an animal suffer. Shame on you.
Mary

What is wrong with our country. Let me tell you. People who don’t care about dogs. Period. Doesn’t matter whether you own it or not. What else is wrong with this country. People who own a dog and say they have the right to do as they wish with it. The right thing to do is what is in the best interest of the dog. I wouldn’t be proud to say I never took my dog to a vet. That’s what is wrong people and thank goodness most people have common-sense AND do take their pets to the vet AND do what is right for the pet. Also, an animal should be treated kindly. Where is your compassion. When you become more compassionate and more educated, you will understand.
TLC

I too never took a dog to the vet growing up either, but now that I am on my own and have a dog, I believe people should take their animals to the vet when needed just as they would their own children. Yes, some people go overboard with the amount of “help” they seek for their animals, but that is their own choice of course. But I’m just going to say this: if I had to choose over any animal (even my own), any child, especially my own, come first before any animal out there. It’s sad some people think just the opposite.

RussP

Going back to when we were kids (if you’re in the over 50 crowd), there was a lot less vets could and would do for a dog. It was mostly rabies shots, flea dips and then put them down if they got ill. Now they have developed almost as much for pets as there is for people with dental care, radiology, blood transfusions, etc.

mary

Of course your child would take priority over your dog. But we are not talking about making comparisions on which one to choose. Let’s stay on the actual subject matter. To everyone else who commented: The issue we are discussing is: Does one simply let a dog suffer because someone is religious and believes god will heal the dog and if the dog is suffering then it’s god’s will. If you are truly educated you won’t sit around waiting for god to do something, you will use your initiative and hopefully common-sense and make sure the dog gets the right treatment at the vet. God did give you brains to think and to have compassion for all animals. He also gave you a brain to take the correct action. He’s busy enough without being at your beck and call. Give him a break.

A. Theist

I don’t recall Christ ever healing animals. He sent a pack of hogs off a cliff, but that’s about it.

Seeker

As I recall Christ did not just send hogs off a cliff because they where hogs, he cast the devil out of people into them and then drove them off a cliff. Seems like an odd thing to do since he could have easily just cast the devil out of them, but I guess it was a power thing to show the people what he could do to make him more believable.
As you know a lot of things about Christ remained not written about so we have no ideal if he healed any animals (something the people of the time would not consider as VIP to note). But God had plenty of them saved on Noah’s ark, thus we know he cared to keep them with mankind. If you believe in that then you also have to believe he prevented the predators from eating their prey on that ship, because even well fed animals will still play with and kill prey animals.
Christ did get to the point he told people to heal themselves which in a way opened the door for medical practices to start since it’s kind of hard to operate on yourself. From there since God kept animals on Earth I am sure he would want us to also heal them if possible.
Asherah is explained as a tree, yet artifacts show that it was God’s wife since artifacts of her where found.
Only one faith lacks preaching the destruction of non-believers so in my eyes it’s the best, yet with it you can be destroyed or taken advantage of by all others.
As 4 Myers I hope he reaps what he has sowed by harming an animal.

http://dallasforme.com/2011/07/court-rules-against-local-pet-owners-religious-claims-14/ Court Rules Against Local Pet Owner?s Religious Claims — Me and the Chicks

[...] of misdemeanor cruelty to an animal violated the constitution and his religious beliefs. As [...] More from: http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2011/0… [...]