The dark side of abuse

In the past week, in the dead of the coldest winter week Newcastle has seen in many moons, a fate far more disturbing has reared its ugly head in Newcastle.

As an animal-lover, and as a resident in an animal-loving community, this past week has been a trial in the newsroom.

With animals found dumped in garbage bags, to sickening tales of abuse and neglect, a sombre attitude is permeating the busy passages of the Newcastle Advertiser.

Readers are not the only ones shocked and dismayed by the stories we put out on a daily basis – it affects us too, being at the scene, having to delve deep within the abyss of animal cruelty cases and still try to find something redeeming to give us an iota of hope at the end of a very long tunnel.

Through all this, it is easy to lose faith in humanity. It’s very easy to think: “I hate people.”

But there is always that one story which pulls us back from the darkness, and this week it was the kindness and helping hand extended to a group of homeless men.

It makes one reflect – not only on the disheartening, but also on the redeeming quality of the human spirit.

We leave the newsroom each day with that hope still intact. No matter what we say or see in this daily grind, there is always someone out there, somewhere, who through their own selflessness, has the ability to make this all worthwhile.