When I was in college, a group of boys, and one of their girlfriends, did some unknown awful thing to a hampster. It had been this kid's pet for a while, and whatever he did had led to the animal's death. From what I could overhear, I suspect it was left outside in the snow or thrown over a cliff while sitting in its cage. The way the group talked about it and made inside jokes amongst themselves disgusted me. I lost so much respect for those people that day.