“Wanted, for our little boy’s birthday: playful, medium-size dog, age 2-3. Will pay cash. 555-1000.”

You’re reading a set of online classifieds, and this one jumps out at you. You have a dog you want to get rid of, and you could make some little kid’s birthday memorable. Besides, you need the money.

You call and set up the sale. The family is pretty rough around the edges, but it’s for their son. How bad could it be?

As it turns out, it’s bad. As bad as you could possibly imagine. The fact is, you — and worse still, your companion animal — have fallen victim to the most current method dogfighters are using to acquire bait dogs to train their killer animals. You have just sold your family pet to some of the sickest, more abhorrent people out there, and that dog who was your pet will have his teeth filed down and then be thrown like raw meat to animals who have been bred for viciousness and are purposely underfed to keep them hungry and mean. These dogs are beaten and abused, but they are rewarded for their aggression, so they have learned to fight to the death for their soul-less owners. Anyone else who comes near them will be shredded in a blind fury.

Incredible pain and fear are about to be your former pet’s last experience in this life.

Cats, unfortunately, fare no better in these exchanges. They, too, can be tied in sacks and hung in front of the dogs who are tethered to run on treadmills for hours. The dogs’ eventual reward is the whole bag, cut down for their pleasure.

Forgive me for saying so, but I hope these scenes disturb you. Greatly.

These stories need to be told to all of us, and then retold to everyone we know, because they’re true, and the Lawrence Humane Society has proof that classified ads like these are coming from Lawrence-area dogfighters that we have targeted. Such abuse IS HAPPENING in our neighborhoods — not in someone else’s section of town, or on someone else’s street. These fighters are living among us in parts of town you wouldn’t suspect.

Trust us on this one. We get calls weekly about some of these dogfighters, but many of them move before we get there, or their cases never come to trial.

They are desperate to get bait animals, and they will use just about any means to attain them from the rest of us. Online classifieds such as Craigslist.com are their new favorite places, and animal shelters across the country are all trying to get the word out: PLEASE DON’T USE SUCH CLASSIFIEDS to sell or give your pets to people you don’t know.

And dogfighters aren’t the only ones doing this. Animal abusers who derive intense pleasure from beating and torturing animals also comb these lists for their next victims. They start small, with mice or gerbils, and work their way up to kittens and puppies, eventually moving to full-grown animals. Sometimes their gratification comes from the control; others thrive on an animal who will fight back. The end result, however, is inevitably that the animal will die a very painful and sometimes prolonged death.

No living thing on earth deserves this, and all living things deserve to have us standing up for them, protecting them, fighting for them.

But because we can’t watch out for every animal in the city, we are asking all of you to be watchful for us.

Trust your instincts about unusual behavior that you see between people and their pets, and inform us. Look for telltale signs: Check the animals’ necks for collars that are too tight. Watch for signs of starvation. Note how long an animal is tied up outside. If you can pet the animal, feel around and see whether he responds in pain from bruising or broken ribs. Does the owner disappear for long periods of time and leave the animal out in the elements? Is the animal barking or crying from inside the apartment for more than a day? Does the owner have a new animal every few weeks and justify it by saying something was wrong with the previous pet and it had to be returned?

Any of these problems indicates abuse, and by alerting the Lawrence Humane Society, you are doing more for the community than rescuing just one animal. Bear in mind that as often as 88 percent of the time, animal abuse will lead to human abuse, if it’s not happening already.

We want to know about these cases. Please phone us at 843-6835 if you spot any of these problems. We may need you to then phone Animal Control, but at least we know where to watch.

The life you save may ultimately be your own.

— Sue Novak is a board member of the Lawrence Humane Society.