True love is much more than that. True love does things for the benefit of others without the expectation of something in return. I do not change my 3 month old's diaper because I expect him to say "Ohh thank you Daddy" or to give me a big hug, I do it because I love him. I don't expect him to do anything for me or to give anything to me. This type of love is something that an animal is simply not capable of.

According to Christianity, or at least the Old Testament, adulterers should be stoned to death. Is this something you advocate, or are you just cherry picking and holding to the elements of Christianity that happen to support your world view?

btw, cats don't lie about dinner. they are just asking for more... hardly a "lie">

The three strikes law equates three time murderers or rapists with three time convicted drug abusers. Sometimes all three counts occur in one (the same)offense.

Worse yet, one time murderers and rapists get out of prison sooner than three time drug abusers.
What's worse?

The guy was not sentenced to life for killing the dog, as horrible as that was. He was sentenced to life for being a habitual felon -- by definition, three felony convictions. It's not like the guy didn't know he had the two previous ones. The purpose of the law is to be a last resort to remove permanantly the people who simply can't be trusted to be out in society without harming other people. It's a crude mechanism, but barring the invention of foolproof psychological screening, it's the best we've got.

According to Christianity, one of the things that makes humans godlike (and proves they have souls) is their knowledge of the difference between right and wrong. I would submit that being able to lie is not itself relevant to whether or not one has a soul -- but the ability to feel guilty about it is a pretty good indicator.

My wife has had cats all her life. They have, to a one, learned that she can be fooled by their behavior. They lie to her -- and don't feel one little bit guilty about it as they eat their second dinner of the night.

Which is why, if she's been working evenings, she always asks me whether I've already fed the cats. If I haven't, I'll tell her the truth -- because I don't like being a liar.

How do you know if a human loves you? Humans lie. Cats don't...

It is sad, but predictable to see someone like skh attack those who disagree with them. No respect for the views of others, and not much respect for life.

Not much in the way of logic, either. If someone kills either another person or a dog by accident, it is not a crime. If someone is driving in a reckless manner or is drunk and they kill either a person or a dog (who is probably someones beloved pet) they probably face some sort of legal sanction even outside of California.

It is a shame that people have to hold themselves as somehow above either those who hold different religious views, or above other creatures, who manage to live upon this beautiful planet God gave us without poisioning it. Here in California we refer to them as sufferers from low self-esteem.

In fact, this is exactly what the "three strikes" law is supposed to do: lock up a dangerous felon for life. It's not like he stole a piece if pizza or a twinkie. He beheaded a defenseless dog, and assaulted others in previous cases. Good riddance.

Animals are not humans. By definition, if nothing else.

Humans are the only creatures with souls? And you know this how?

Either we're just like other animals, many of which prey on other animals so we're no different, or we're superior to them, where it's reasonable for us to put them to our service.

Either logically or spiritually, there's sufficient justification for humans to put other animals to our own purposes. But the reason we would punish someone for beheading a dog would be based on morality.