Animal Cruelty In the United States, an animal is abused every 60 seconds. Neglected and terrified, these animals are constantly fighting for their lives (“Every animal deserves a second chance”). As common and harmful as it is, animal cruelty was not a crime in all 50 states until a few months ago (March 14, 2014), when South Dakota actually passed its new law, making animal abuse a crime nationwide (Berry). Just because animal abuse is illegal, doesn't mean people don't continue to commit these heinous acts of violence. While laws against animal cruelty help provide legal protection for most animals in the United States, they do not adequately aid the advancement of animal rights. There are approximately many indicators of the likelihood that a person will commit domestic violence, but the most compelling is a history of pet violence ("Domestic Violence and Animal Cruelty"). Nauseating people who abuse animals are five times more likely to also attack humans ("Animal Cruelty and Domestic Violence - Animal Legal Defense Fund"). It has also been confirmed that the most dangerous types of domestic abusers are those who also abuse animals; this is because they are more violent and controlling. Researchers have found that children who have been abused or exposed to domestic violence are three times more likely to abuse or neglect animals than children who have not experienced the same violence (“Domestic Violence and Animal Cruelty”) . This outrageous fact is one that every parent should consider before attempting to express violence towards children. The link between animal abuse and domestic violence is so common that social services often begin investigations for a troubled family by examining the family's animals (“Facts about Animal Abuse and Domestic Violence”). According to the Animal Legal Defense Fund, "the truth is that a person who harms animals probably will. Oogy was an affectionate and loyal puppy, ten weeks old and weighing just twenty pounds, incredibly delicate, when a vulgar and despicable "human" tied him up and tied him up. He used him as bait for an adult, ferocious pit bull, bred to be, to be torn apart. Somehow, perhaps by some miracle, Oogy was struggling to survive when the police found him locked up a cage, bled to death, with his jaw shattered and his left ear torn off (Levin) Another incident of rage-inducing animal cruelty involves Dolly, a playful pit bull of about six years old, who had been scheduled for death. euthanized due to the remains her attackers had left on her. Dolly was blind and was attacked by a baseball bat until her skull was broken and she suffered brain damage; her right ear was hanging by a thread and was completely buried by the burns and scabs that the fire had brought on her. Fortunately, volunteers from an animal rescue organization in New York City managed to eradicate all of the injuries Dolly acquired except her vision, which was permanently impaired by her brain damage ("Abused and Abandoned Animals"). These tragic incidents of brutal abuse of innocent animals could easily be avoided if unintentional animal abuse were a crime and it was a requirement for pet owners to understand and be informed about it.