*A Dialogue between two officers*

“Evening, sarge. I got here quick as I could. What have we… Oh! Goodness! I was told that it was bad, but… I could never have imagined this!”

“Yes, and you never get used to the smell. Thankfully he has already pleaded guilty. We’re only here to do a final walk through before they destroy everything.”

“How many do you think there are?”

“There must be at least a hundred dogs in here, but he said that he had over five hundred since he moved here!”

“Five hundred! He’s only been here three months!… What would make a man do such a thing?!”

“You won’t believe this, but his plea was ‘love.’”

“‘Love’?! Love wouldn’t do this!”

“He said that he only studied to be a veterinarian, so he could figure out why people loved dogs so much.”

“This is anything but love. This is obsession! No, worse. It’s utter insanity! I didn’t know humans were capable of such horror. Five hundred dogs dissected with his blade?!”

“I know; it’s awful. Unfortunately, it is all too common though. Our line of work sees the worst of people. I’ll never forget his final words to the court. Chilled me to the bone they did. He said, ‘I alone was brave enough to follow my joy to any length and at any expense. Others do the same and are praised for it. Everyone does to some extent, but few will pay the cost for what they really want. Deep within everyone’s heart is an ever evolving scheme to have our darkest pleasures gratified. At any given moment, we all know exactly how to get what we want. Even if we do not act, the perverse longing is still there. At least I acted on it and did not remain in bondage to this synthetic system of moral slavery. Maybe killing puppies is nowhere near the dark desires pulsing through each beat of your hearts.’”

“God, help us!”