ANIMAL ABUSE A DANGER SIGNAL

There's another story like this about every week or so, pointing out that an individual's animal abuse is often an indicator for later criminal violence against people. This one is a little more pointed: "Animal abuse should be treated as a serious public health issue with far-reaching ramifications, rather than an unfortunate anomaly, a visiting US psychologist says." I bring it up because no one else seems to be tying this fact to the shocking allegations that former NBA star Jayson Williams shot and killed his pet Rottweiler "Zeus" after losing a $100 bet, then pointed the gun at the other bettor and threatened him. All of this occurred about six months before Williams shot and killed limousine driver Gus Christofi.

Here are the details: "Prosecutors said former New Jersey Nets player Dwayne Schintzius told detectives he had bet Williams $100 he could drag the attack-trained dog out of Williams' house without being bitten. When Schintzius made good on his claim, Williams got a shotgun and blasted the dog twice, once in the side and once in the head. When Schintzius and another houseguest ignored Williams' command to remove the dog's carcass, Williams reloaded the gun and pointed it at Schintzius, according to prosecutors. He allegedly threatened Schintzius that he would be next if the dog was not removed." Why is it so hard to understand that people who are hateful to animals are hateful people?