Life has some very sad lessons to teach us and we begin to learn them at a rather young age. The world just isn’t a very fair place. No matter how realistic or idealistic we may be, these lessons still sting when we first learn them. Lessons like these also apply to the animal kingdom. Science teachers are often left with an impossible task in this regard.

It is their job to explain the ins and outs of these cruelties to their students. In most instances, it is kill or be killed. There is no wiggle room in the animal kingdom. An Idaho classroom was recently the setting for just such a lesson. A national furor was created as a result. Some will argue that this teacher overstepped his boundaries as an educator.

Others may say that he did not go far enough. One of Preston Junior High School’s most beloved teachers is now caught in the crossfire. Robert Crosland is well known in the area and his students are some of his biggest fans. He’s the type of teacher that is willing to step outside of the box a little bit, in order to make a lesson truly come to life.

His son Mario received a puppy from a local farmer that ended up being sickly. Robert decided that he would use this dog as a means of teaching a lesson. Some students stayed after school to watch Robert try to feed the puppy to a snake nearby. The puppy was placed inside of the tank that the snake was kept but the animal was disinterested.

At this time, he brought the puppy to a different tank. He was going to see if Jaws the snapping turtle wanted something to eat. Jaws fed on the puppy and stunned students told their parents. From there, an animal cruelty charge was filed against the teacher. Crosland was not looking to be ghoulish, he simply wanted to put the sickly animal out of their misery.

The jury that was assigned to the case agreed with his explanation and decided to acquit him of the charges. For their part, The Idaho Humane Society believes that this verdict is a miscarriage of justice and they are doing everything in their power to let the world know. Please be sure to share this story, so that you can learn more about where your friends and loved ones have to say on the matter.