Do we have to forgive juvenile misdeeds because the juveniles in question haven't been taught any better, or is it all right to call this kid a monster?
Police have arrested a 15-year-old boy in connection with the January shooting death of a horse in Franklin Township.
Nikki, a 29-year-old quarterhorse, belonged to Southeastside resident Cathy Troutt. Authorities euthanized the horse Jan. 27 after finding it bleeding and unable to walk in the acreage behind its home.
[. . .]
Troutt said gunshots are fairly common in the semirural area near her home because of sportsmen who live in the area.
"There was about 10 shots," Troutt said. "We didn't really think a whole lot of it (until finding the horse)."
There is something about casual cruelty to animals that seems so depraved that it can tap emotions not even always touched by homicide. At least when people kill people, there is often passion involved. People get mad, or they get greedy or drunk and stupid. Shooting a horse just because it's standing there and you've got nothing better to do is a cold and soulless thing to do.
