Who knows what his skewed reasoning was exactly...but I bet he did think he was doing the right thing. Not all people who commit suicide are mentally ill and not all people who have clinical mood disorder commit suicide. Its very very sad though that people can look at a suicide with such hate towards the person. Being depressed is not the same as being sad. Your mind is not working normally at all, one example; you can't even feel pleasure. I could never hate anyone who had to go through that. Even if those animals were mine, I'd be terribly upset but I couldn't hate him.

 Quote: amy vandeweerd

I'm thinking that I feel terrible for what has happened to these animals, but in my mind I'm seeing someone who was mentally unstable enough to take his own life. I wonder if he had a rational thought as to why it was important to let his animals go. (no forseeable food source? Wild animals' need to be in the wild?) Though it makes no sense to those of us who are "with it", He may not have been. I almost hope he wasn't when he made the choice to open those cage doors.
Either way, it really sucks!

"Being depressed is not the same as being sad. Your mind is not working normally at all, one example; you can't even feel pleasure. I could never hate anyone who had to go through that. "



I understand what you're saying.

It's very very hard to see what he did to these animals and not react with extreme emotion. (For me, overwhelming grief and rage.)

I had the extreme emotion that others expressed. What you are saying is part of what I started to reason later. But in my emotional distress, I admit that I had worse thoughts (which I would call rage rather than hatred) about the perpetrator than some of the posts here expressed.

I still do, I'm afraid, even while understanding and agreeing with what you say.

I understand and I think others will...because hey, we all react a little crazy when its something close to heart.

Very few of us have not been touched by the suicide of someone we cared about I think. And how that suicide effected our life is going to color our feelings towards others.

Out of respect for all of those that lost someone they loved and out of respect and love for those that had to deal with the intentional destructive acts of someone that they loved I am bowing out of this thread.

I do not want words that I may type to cause someone living more pain.

Ohio is one of 5 or 6 states that have no ban on owning exotic so this most likely could hurt the ones who do care for there exotics.
Somehow I don't think Thompson really cared about the animals that were killed if he did he wouldn't of had a conviction of animal cruelty.

Tragedy for sure.

Well, when you have that many animals, it's easy for one to look poorly during an inspection, which could lead to an animal cruelty conviction. I'm not defending the guy, but it has happened before.

What is really ironic that the news report said that the guy had only been out of jail/prison on a weapons charge for about a week, I wish they could have keep him in bit longer and found animal rescue areas or zoos that could have given those animals a home, instead of them all being killed.

That is possibly but how many times or poor inspections would it take to have a history of neglect as they say he did.

Sadly for the animals, like you said the stay in prison for the weapons charge was not long enough.

I wonder how long would be legal for them to take the animals? Who was taking care of them then? I guess as long as somebody cared for them there's nothing they could do?

I read his wife was feeding them while he was away on vacation. It also stated he fed emaciated horses after they died from malnutrition.
This latest story doesn't paint a good pic except for the 6 survivors.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/21/zanesville-ohio-exotic-animals-escape-killed_n_1026064.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk2%7C106482

I had heard they threw food into the cages in hopes they would go in but they did not. I think it is so so sad. This was not the animals fault. they were bought then given away probably when they grew to big to care for. Then they were put at his rescue farm, which later turned out not to be a rescue farm at all. It was sad, sad story. I am sad for him too because of his depression. Depression is horrible I have it and it comes on like crazy and you have to battle and battle it. Sometimes you get so tired of battling, death looks like a welcoming ending to the pain.
However, there is always hope. If any of you are depressed out there, do not give up. I have felt like giving up at times, but there is always hope for you. I am sorry for all his troubles and his wife's. How horrible for her to have her husband kill himself. I bet with his body laying out there on their property and with the animals all out, she couldn't go to him. THat had to be heartbreaking.
The officers suffered too. can you imagine the fear and then the actually killing of the animals? I am praying they do not have nightmares.

Sharon