If we attribute too much value to a dog (for example equating beating a dog to 2 years of prison time for a human) then we are heading down a twisty mangled logical road that can only lead to lots of things that are not good for the cause of conservatives. One of the fundamental premises of conservative philosophy is to draw a distinct line between humans and all other animals.
Cruelty to animals is a leading indicator of a propensity to do violence to other people.I still don’t understand why you injected abortion into a discussion of animal cruelty.