The biggest animal-related story this year came two weeks ago when horse racing fans (and non-horse racing fans) watched in horror as a filly was euthanized minutes after collapsing with two fractured ankles at the Kentucky Derby. The biggest animal-related story last year—besides the death of a horse from injuries it suffered while racing at the Preakness Stakes the previous May—involved a disgraced professional football player who was sentenced to 23 months in federal prison for operating a dog fighting ring on his property in Virginia. In 2006, a world-famous Australian wildlife conservationist and television star, a man who had dedicated his life to advocating for the environment and endangered animals, was killed when a stingray barb pierced his chest.

What connects these stories is not only the obvious tragedy that made global headlines out of each one, but also the way each one exposes the complicated relationship between human and animal. In the case of Michael Vick, the former star quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons who pled guilty to dog fighting charges, the story seemed simple enough: A man commits unspeakable crimes against dogs, the public is justifiably outraged and he gets locked up, losing out on millions of dollars in the process.

But some observers—perhaps cynically—noted that Vick would have been better off if he had been busted for beating his wife, had he in fact been married. The sports world, after all, is littered with athletes who have been charged with spousal abuse, only to be welcomed back to their teams and embraced by their fans as if nothing really bad had happened. What this proves is not that we put a premium on the lives of animals over our fellow man, but that humans are capable of both horrific cruelty to animals and also prone to obsessive love for them as well.

We will not pretend to know enough about horse breeding or racing to weigh in on the moral debate that has unfolded since Eight Belles, the filly that finished in second place at the Kentucky Derby on May 3, was euthanized moments after crossing the finish line. But while we understand where William Rhoden is coming from when he wrote in the New York Times that horse racing is “only a couple of steps removed from animal cruelty,” we also believe the tears shed by the filly’s jockey and trainer after the race were genuine. The line that separates love and cruelty for animals does not always seem to be as straight as we want it to be.

Mary Austin Speaker came face to face with this complicated human/animal relationship when she spent three days at the Pennsylvania State Taxidermy Championships. In her piece, she explores the small, close-knit world of taxidermy, a vaguely spiritual craft that allows for the “unsettling communion with the animal who once occupied the skin now mounted and positioned just so.” With photos by Kramer O’Neill.

Sometimes our love for dogs is so great that we’re willing to cramp our own lives in order to accommodate their comfort. Michael Dinan looks into the very American phenomenon of dogs sleeping with their owners, and the complications this can cause for both sleep and sex.

Bradley Hope reports on how some Buddhists have unknowingly jeopardized the safety of red-eared slider turtles in New York through a ceremonial religious practice that involves painting on their shells.

Last Exit co-editor Keach Hagey checks in from Abu Dhabi where she learns that falcons travel just like humans, complete with passports and long waits in security lines.

Back in New York, Walmsley Apricot stumbles upon the ugliest creature he has ever seen: A tiny bird that he at first mistakes for a rat. In his quest to find the bird some care, he finds himself in an apartment cum avian hospital, owned by a curious lady who once dreamed of a glamorous life in showbiz. With an illustration by Sara Edwards.

Brooklyn-based writer Sabrina Kim comes clean about the love of her life: A tiny sprite named Pudge who lives inside a video game.

In her 16 mm short film, Kelly Deegan shows how caring for others, specifically animals, can help one get through the difficulties of life.

— The Editors