PLN 17

Something very disturbing caught my eye when I was looking through the Rocky Mountain news. The title was Teen guilty of torturing autistic boy's tortoise. This was a very sad to read because now the seven year old autistic boy is now tramatized from this. He thinks that the same thing that happened to his pet will happen to him. The 18 year old boy responsible for this is named Jose Antonio Mosqueda. It took place in Ventura, California.

What Matters: When things like this happen, it is clear that the people responible are not healthy mentally. Mosqueda took the 40-pound African spurred tortoise named Bob from a backyard. He then slashed its legs and neck, puntured its shell and then threw it at a wall. This is an unquestionable sign that Mosqueda needs mental help because any normal person doesn't just do that to an innicent animal. The worst part is that the owner of the tortoise loved that animal more than anything and it was helping him with his disease of autism.Thankfully the animal survived and is recovering from its wounds. Mosqueda faces 3 years in jail, and 5 years on probation and he has to pay $5,479 in restitution. He also lost possession of his own pets. He later gave his apologizes to the family and his attorney.

Why it Matters to Me: This is a pretty upsetting article to read. It puzzles me why he would do such a thing to a poor animal and autistic boy. When I was little my nieghbors used to go a big grassy field behind my house and catch gardener snakes. They would then torture them...I wasn't sure what they were doing at the time but now that I am older and I think about it I realize how horrible it was. When I read this article it reminded me of that and I started remembering all the blood and the sadness in the animals eyes just before they died. I just hope that the autistic boy recovers from this very tramatizing experience and that Mosqueda gets mental help will he serves his 3 years in jail.