Boy, 8, used BBQ fork to kill dog: SPCA

*sigh*

sad.

we'll see the boy again.. after the death of a child.


good job by the parents....

Psycho killer quest que cest.

It sounds like dad is at least not defending his kid, just doesn't know how to parent him. And in a small community like that, there would be no services available to him. Doubt if there's much that can be done anyway, some people just seem to be born bad. But they should at least try to get him some help.

I don't think the parents necessarily have much to do with it. This could be a bad seed. Torturing animals is an often an early indicator of violent psycopathy (along wiht bedwetting and firestarting).

There is no help for psychopaths. There is not much available in the way of treatment. Apart from their appearance they share more in common with reptiles than with humans.

Psychopathy lies on a scale - most of us have some degree of it. Business leaders tend to be high in it. So in part it depends on what outlet the psychopathy finds - a socially acceptable one or more like this kid. Maybe he could be trained to focus his engergies on becoming a great CEO instead. But yes, until we understand a whole lot more about the brain, there doesn't seem to be too much to be done. Still to just abandon an 8 year old without trying seems like a shame to me. Should at least try.

A serial killer in training. In certain parts of the world he might become their leader.

I hear that pilots have the highest incidence of pscopathy in their ranks. Makes sense.

Agreed that it is a continuum, but if you're torturing animals at 8, it doesn't look good. Mind you Rene Descartes was big on torturing animals too, asnd he did OK.

That may be because it was socially acceptable in those days, and he was doing experiments or something. We still do that as a society, plus bull fights, dog fights, cock fights, etc etc - not all of the people involved in those activities would be deemed psychopaths. The Newfies were also pretty big on causing animals suffering - ie Farley Mowats "A Whale for the killing." The outcry is just because it's somebody's little dog, if he did it to a racoon or something, people wouldn't be near as upset. (Tho he'd probably come out the worst in that case.)

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." - Mahatma Gandhi

Well, my 5 y.o. likes to torture bugs. Pretty sure she's not doing it on purpose.

People get upset when its pets though, becasue they are often considered part of the family. I like my dog a hell of a lot more than I like some people.

Your dog will never talk behind your back or treat you like shit. One of the many reasons why dogs are better than most people!

The only way to deal with them is monitor them or remove them from society. They are the ultimate predators, tending towards higher than normal IQs(I guess if you prey on humans you have to be smarter than the average one). This kid has gone beyond mere sociopathy(Andy alluded to some sucessful businessmen/politicians having a degree of this) and has started on the road that leads to sadistic killer. And, like others have already stated, if we're not vigilant he may graduate to humans next.

Your dog will never talk behind your back or treat you like shit. One of the many reasons why dogs are better than most people!

I agree. Your pets especially dogs, are the truest of companions. I never met a double dealing dog.

Your dog will never talk behind your back or treat you like shit. One of the many reasons why dogs are better than most people!

I agree. Your pets especially dogs, are the truest of companions. I never met a double dealing dog.

I've met a double dealing bitch though!

I'm sure the double dealing bitch was on two legs not four.
I've met a number of those myself.

That's cruel((