For a fact: animals are more afraid of humans than we are of them. You might’ve heard of bear attacks, but that’s an act of self-preservation. Humans can be even more horrible.

Don’t believe me? Just this month, (and we’re less than half-way through) several horrifying cases of animal abuse. Be warned, some of these stories of animal abuse might make you think less of the human animal.

Getting a puppy high is a crime.

A Plainfield man who stole a puppy from a west suburban pet store was charged with theft, but not animal abuse.

Emanual Lopez dashed out of the Petland store barely 4 months ago with a 2-pound pure-bred Pomeranian puppy that is apparently worth $1,500 — and then drove around with his friends, all the while blowing cannabis smoke in the puppy’s face until it passed out.

Three days later the pup was returned to the store, and is now in the care of the Naperville family. Police reports detail that Lopez agreed to the theft of the pup, only to sell it to Karlie Pellock and Anais Marquez. All three of them have, at one point, worked for the Petland store.

Lopez pleaded guilty and only received a year of court supervision and 50 hours of community service. But what of the actual animal abuse? Doesn’t he get spanked for that?

Putnam man tried to drown puppy.

Witnesses were appalled when they witnessed a Putnam county-man, Sabeno Martinez-Perez throwing a dog into the water, retrieving it, and then throwing it back, aiming for a pole to break the dog’s neck.

Even as the deputy arrived, the man would not stop holding the dog by the neck, and then repeatedly throwing it in the lake. Instead, the animal abuse-committing man would simply shout back, saying that it "was his puppy."

The puppy, estimated to be 10 – 12 months old, was of mixed breed, and was making gurgling sounds, as if its lungs contained water. It is now doing much better in the care of the Putnam County Animal Control.

Martinez-Perez has been charged with cruelty against animals, and, as authorities later found out, he is an illegal immigrant, federal authorities have been contacted to have the animal abuser deported.

Cat on fire, as neighbors watched.

They don’t teach animal abuse in schools, so how could you explain the boys that poured lighter fluid on a kitten, only to set him on fire?

Lisa Mills, the witnesses, was shocked to discover something moving in her yard, while it was on fire. The cat looked for refuge in a tree, only to set parts of it on fire, leading up to some utility wires, creating a spark.

What shocked Mills more so than the age group to which the suspects belonged to, was the indifference of her surrounding neighbors, as they watched the fire-lit kitten struggling to it’s last breath, like it was entertainment.

Apparently these neighborhood boys are treating the whole area as their backyard, doing what they want, without fear of consequences. What kind of person would they grow up to be, being animal abusers in youth?