Laurels & lances: Animal edition

Laurel: To family fun. The Westmoreland Fair is all about bringing the community together with events and attractions that can satisfy people of all ages. Concerts to camel rides, rodeos to rabbit agility courses — there’s almost nothing you can’t find at the fair.

And for some, it’s a family affair. That’s not just about attending, but participating.

Deegan Hast, 13, of Salem Township had two Nigerian dwarf dairy goats to exhibit Sunday. As he couldn’t be in two places at the same time, sister Rayen, 10, stepped up to lead one of the goats.

Deegan took a grand champion title with one of the animals and a first-place with the other, as well as a reserve champion title for his alpaca in another category. Meanwhile, Rayen showed her own taller Nubian goat and picked up a reserve title of her own.

Over in the rabbit area, Hayden Dillon, 13, of Mt. Pleasant Township and his sister Jocelyn, 12, have competed against each other for years. This time was Hayden’s turn at grand champion, but he had no time for gloating. Instead, he worried about his sister and her bunnies who struggled in the oppressive heat.

These siblings — and other sets — working individually to succeed as well as jointly to support each other show the best of farm life in Pennsylvania.

Lance: To calculated cruelty. At the other end of the spectrum, we think about the way animals are harmed.

Sometimes, even often, that’s through neglect. Among the most common are the cases we see so frequently of someone who loves animals and collects them to the point where caring for them becomes impossible. A house overrun with cats, dogs or other animals shows up too often.

That is not what happened in Pittsburgh when police became aware of videos posted to social media showing deliberate acts of cruelty. The video showed mice duct-taped to fireworks, which were then ignited, killing the animals.

Yes, mice are rodents that many property owners will trap or kill, but those actions should be undertaken humanely and for the health and safety of the home or business. They should not be done callously or for entertainment, in a way that calls to mind a gruesome horror movie.

Police say they have recovered evidence of the incident in the city’s Northview Heights neighborhood and charges are forthcoming against an as-yet-unidentified man detained on other unrelated charges.