I have to confess to mixed feelings about this animal thing. I was raised on a farm where a calf, pig or chicken was a pet one day and lunch the next. If we sold an animal, we all mourned, but if we butchered one, my Dad would brag about what a tasty steak or chop old George or Jumper had become and it was kind of a celebration.
My English grandmother taught me that the Bible says God created animals for the benefit of man, not the other way around.
My Indian granny taught me that imprisoning animals in our homes was unkind to both animal and man. She believed that animals were friends and that friends can't be bought or owned.
Later as a medical researcher, I found that anthropologists believe one reason for higher disease rates in Europe before colonization is that in Europe people pretty much lived in close quarters with their animals while in America, the Indians allowed even their pets to run free. Many of the diseases brought to the Americas were actually mutations of animal diseases that developed when animals were crowded into the homes of their owners.
I love some animals, but not all. I hate the squirrels who break into my attic to eat the wiring and the raccoons who broke in and ate the air conditioner ducts. I still hate the little poodle who bit my daughter when she was two and I hate the yippy dogs that some of my friends bring with them to visit.
But I love the deer that leap across my creek and the hawks who soar to their nest in the back yard. I even love the exiled cat, but I will probably wind up having him put to sleep for his good and mine. He's not healthy and would be much better off. However, my husband and I are both such bleeding heart cowards, we just keep procrastinating.
smile

[ June 07, 2004, 10:03 AM: Message edited by: smilinize ]