our duty towards animals---great and small

 



Yesterday as I was driving I noticed up ahead of me two groups of Canada geese, milling about on the side of the road. A pond was just down the hill and whether they were entering or leaving, I don't know. A large SUV was also ahead of me. I slowed down because I assumed that driver would also do the same, just to give the geese a chance to figure out their destination. Instead of slowing down, however, the driver sped up....deliberately aiming at the flock and hitting an adult goose before speeding off.
I pulled over and stepped out. By now the other geese were hovering over the body, honking and spreading their wings while the half grown goslings huddled together, unsure of what to do. I gently held that goose as it fluttered weakly...then passed on. Another driver who was behind me also stopped, disgusted at what we had both witnessed. I cried at the injustice of those who would deliberately hit a defenseless creature. If anyone has seen the film, "Fly Away Home," you'll know what I am speaking of.

Last week my little Yorkshire terrier died....he was ten years old. Mourning the passing of a pet of so many years was painful. Every little thing that we ever did together I now did alone. In Sunday's newspaper, I read of how someone who was asked to care for his sister's dog while she was away at work instead took the dog out. When he came back later without the puppy, she inquired as to where it was. He replied that he didn't know. A few hours later, someone reported an injured dog UNDER a porta-potty. When police arrived, they found a puppy matching the description of the missing one: his head was battered and it had machete marks along its body, then left to die.

Again...why? Why the abuse against defenseless creatures when I mourned my own dog's passing so keenly?
It is said that how one treats animals is also how they treat people. Looking at the sorry state of our world, I am understanding this more each day. I don't have answers...but I do have suggestions. If you see an animal abused, mistreated or injured, please take the time to help it...be an advocate on its behalf. It is said that if you want to have  a friend, you need to BE one.
So true.

Today, be a friend to all you meet, whether on two legs or four....be an example of love.