Sorry, but if I have to choose between a human and an animal? The human’s going to win out, every time.

For example: All other things being equal, if a person and a dog were trapped in a burning building and I could only save one of them? It’s not going to be the one who drinks out of a toilet. 

Call me a specist, but that’s just the way I roll.

RELATED: After Sage the cat’s torture, petitions push tougher Utah animal cruelty laws

For this and so many other reasons I’m fairly certain I wouldn’t make a very good Buddhist. Oh, I’m pretty much a live-and-let-live kind of guy with the bugs I encounter outdoors. But those of you who believe in reincarnation better pray you don’t come back as a wasp or a spider — or even a box elder bug — inside my house.

I also can’t see spending $1,500 on chemotherapy for a cat. I’m not above flushing a dying goldfish. And while I personally wouldn’t attend a rodeo, I don’t begrudge those who do.

RELATED: Investigation into Sage the cat’s death remains open, reward fund grows again

Oh, and yes I eat chicken. All the time. Even though I’ve seen the disturbing hidden-camera videos on the subject of chicken processing plants.

I say all this so you know that I’m not one of those militant animal-rights activists who places equal value on all species. I’m quite comfortable with our current place at the top of the food chain, thank you very much.

However, there is one area of that intersection between humans and other creatures where I completely agree with the rabid animal-rights folks.

Animal cruelty.

I see no difference between a person who would intentionally torture an animal and one who would do the same to a human being. Both exhibit a level of depravity that, frankly, frightens the bejeebers out of me.

So I can identify with the more than 40,000 people who have signed two online petitions seeking tougher laws against those who commit cruelty against animals. One petition supports the creation of an animal abusers registry — similar to the way sex offenders are tracked. The other asks to increase the maximum felony penalty for pet torture.

One of these petitions was created in response to the heartbreaking story of Sage the cat, a family pet in Clearfield who died March 9 after being tortured. According to various reports, the black and white feline had been shaved, burned and beaten. He’d had his paws, toes and ribs broken, and his whiskers cut. Glue and silicone were smeared in his fur.

The authorities are still looking for that waste of skin. Davis County Animal Care and Control director Clint Thacker recently told the Standard-Examiner: “We desperately want to catch the person or persons who did this.”

To that end, various groups have pooled their resources to offer a staggering $61,850 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Sage’s torturer.

Let’s hope someone claims that money, because animal abuse is serious stuff. Indeed, research shows that serial killers and mass murderers often cut their teeth on torturing animals.

Last October, Provo police received a report of a cat on fire. When officers arrived on the scene, they found a kitten that had been burned alive and left in a gutter. Although the kitten wasn’t dead, it had to be euthanized because of its injuries.

In January, a 26-year-old Provo man, Spencer Jens Pedersen, pleaded guilty to torturing and killing that kitten, as well as one other. The second kitten had been found dead in Pedersen’s trash can; a veterinarian determined it had died from blunt force trauma — including a broken jaw, broken back legs, and blown eardrums.

Authorities say Pedersen may have killed or tortured as many as 11 kittens and cats. He also had prior drug and arson convictions in Davis County.

Pedersen was sentenced to serve zero to five years in prison for torture of a companion animal and possession/use of a controlled substance.

Anyone who would torture and kill these helpless little balls of fur has some major psychological issues — and needs to be watched like a hawk. On Friday, I called Jim Hatch, a spokesman for the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole.

Hatch said Pedersen is currently being held in the Millard County Jail as an “overflow inmate” from the Utah State Prison, and that he had his first parole hearing back on April 27. Last Tuesday the pardons and parole board ruled on that hearing, scheduling Pedersen for a re-hearing in September. The board also ordered a psychological evaluation and recommendations, due by Aug. 1.

“In this case, the board wanted to try to understand his mind better, and find out why he did what he did,” Hatch said.

Yeah. Good luck with that.

As for our earlier scenario about what I would do if a human and a dog were trapped in a burning building? If a guy like Pedersen — or whoever killed Sage — is one of the victims, I’ve changed my mind.

I believe I’ll take the one who drinks out of the toilet.

Contact Mark Saal at 801-625-4272, or msaal@standard.net. Follow him on Twitter at @Saalman. Friend him on Facebook at facebook.com/MarkSaal.