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alison_col

A 'rescuer' we can all agree on -- WARNING

alison
17 years ago

This moved on the local news last night. A woman who "had lost faith in the local adoption system" has systematically drowned over 600 cats and dogs in the last 4 1/2 years. According to one of the other TV stations coverage I heard, Maureen McLaughlin had a reputation for being a wonderful animal rescuer -- she took tons of animals in and everyone assumed she had found homes for them. (I don't know if she explicitly told folks she'd found homes for the animals, or they simply assumed it when the animals were no longer in her home.) Ironically, she told police she "has been in the animal rescue business for the last 16 years." There's no indication she hated animals, she simply thought there was no future for these unwanted animals and it was better for them to be put out of their misery.

On the Pets forum, quirkyquercus posted a news story about four woman who took two dogs from a home in the name of animal rescue. It's sparked some debate about property rights, animal rights, and taking the law into your own hands. While this story is pretty horrific, I think there are some similar issues. (Not identical, but similar.)

I think we can all agree this woman is a killer, and probably mentally ill, but she also sees what she's doing as "rescue". While her actions are much worse than the four women who stole two dogs from a woman's home, the defense is the same -- I'm acting on my conscience, and therefore I can break the law.

WARNING: There's nothing graphic in the story, but I found it pretty disturbing.

Here is a link that might be useful: NBC 4 McLaughlin story

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