Animal cruelty and the facts?

It breaks my heart . I love animals, big and small. I feel so blessed to have animals that love me and to know that there are cold, heartless, and unbelievably cruel people out there who perform such horrible things to these poor dear creatures is sickening. What makes them think that the animals lives mean any less than ours? I wish there were something we could do. I have a dog and a cat and they are treated like royalty in my home. Everybody who knows me could tell you that when it comes to animals, I would defend them with anything I could.