Here I am, sitting around writing down some recipes for a friend (human recipes) and my daughter enters the room. She's a little angry at her generation, which I understand on a cellular level, so she gets my undivided attention.
She shows me an app for her iphone and I am dumbstruck. It’s an app for "Dog Wars" where players feed, train and fight virtual dogs. Kage Games came up with and is promoting this game called "Dog Wars." Shame on them.
It doesn't stop with just that tiny bit of immorality; players are allowed to inject their dogs with steroids, bet cash on the fights and use a gun when the cops come in for a bust. What type of person thinks of this as a game?
I am appalled at the level we have allowed ourselves to sink. What good can come of something as stupid as a game like this? At a time when dog fighting is one of the top concerns of law enforcement and the public in general, a game like "Dog Wars" emerges.
I'm told I'm taking this a bit too personally but does anybody out there even know what type of life a fighting dog has? Talk about a Spartan lifestyle. They are tethered by a very short and heavy chain as a leash, unless they are going through the grueling task of training or actually fighting. They are starved to the point where they happily eat the raw hamburger laced with gunpowder to make them meaner as the powder eats through their stomach lining.They live in squalor so they feel it is a treat to come out and fight. Many actually die during fights from a variety of causes including exhaustion, shock and/or blood loss.
What could someone be thinking when he sought to glorify this particular blood-sport by making it into a game where children could get access to it, readily? My 12-year-old daughter asked me to check it out and I found a Website where you can sign a petition against Kage Games and this horrific form of entertainment.
When contacted by myself and a variety of rescue organizations, I got a canned response that stated the game was intended to educate the public. Really?
I was going to take pictures of the app and put them on the Patch site, but I wanted to end my column on a happy note. The pictures I’m sharing today are three dogs that have never been beat, chained or mistreated in any way. You all know them by now as Cubby Bear, Tova and Sheba.
I just finished writing my kids' adventure story titled, “Cubby Bear,” and I will be sharing it with you on Patch, one chapter at a time starting next week. I just finished doing a YouTube promotion that will probably be ready for next week’s column. It’s kid friendly and preferred by the young at heart.
Love your animals as they love you. Thanks for listening, Roy.
