Don't forget cruelty to humans

Of course it offended our sensibilities when a young man used kittens to train his hunting dog. Kittens aren't bait; for many of us, they are well-loved pets, members of our families.

The outcry was deep and bellowing after Jon Lawler, 19, of Evergreen, picked up cats that were offered "free to good homes" and then sacrificed them to train his hound to hunt cougars. Lawler turned the cats - at least two - loose in the woods and let his dog tree the terrified and helpless animals. Then he shot them.

"What Mr. Lawler did was reprehensible," said prosecuting Deputy County Attorney Tim Wenz. And it was. We doubt that he'll do it again.

Lawler quickly became the Flathead Valley's most despised man. More than 120 letters poured into sentencing Justice of the Peace David Ortley. Some suggested that the teenager's actions portend a life of abusing people. Lawler is a serial killer in the making, some suggested.

Ortley didn't put much credence in those predictions. But he made an interesting observation in front of a packed courtroom Friday when he sentenced Lawler.

He regularly handles matters as serious as domestic violence and the abuse and neglect of children. He doesn't receive 120 letters on any one of them.

On the day the Daily Inter Lake ran the story about two counts of animal cruelty filed against Lawler, there was other local news. One story was about a county commissioner pleading guilty to obstructing a law-enforcement officer. Another was about a man accused of stockpiling machine guns in connection with allegations that a group of militia members planned to murder local officials, their wives and children.

It was the Lawler story that prompted a reaction. Some callers accused the paper of trying to "cover up" or downplay Lawler's story. They wanted more.

"Somehow, this drew all kinds of attention," Ortley said.

It makes us think about whether our moral compass is still registering true north.

Days before Lawler was sentenced, a Marion man shot his wife in the face in front of the couple's children and then killed himself. Those children are with friends and family, dealing with overwhelming trauma while their mother fights for her life in a Seattle hospital. Where is our dismay, our compassion, our anger for their sorrow and pain, as was so eloquently expressed for two cats?

Ortley did a fine job of sentencing Lawler - a total of 20 days in jail, plus $560 in fines, loss of his right to hunt mountain lions, and a mandatory report on two books about ethics and hunting.

We think Lawler learned his lesson. We wonder if there is a lesson in his story for the rest of us, as well.