A Cruel and Dastardly Act

Received some news today that had me in tears. Tears of sorrow, anger and of frustration. My Aunt Janey has received another blow. I last met her at my niece's wedding in July where she took the dance floor by storm with her moves, her energy and her obvious joy. This from a woman in her 70s who lost her only daughter a year before that. Her grief was put aside on that dance floor and she told me how much she had enjoyed herself that day.

Aunt Janey lives a few hundred miles from us. When I was at her house on the day of my cousin's funeral, I recall talking to her about her two companion dogs. Aunt Janey is a widow, her two sons married and living in different states.She told me she walked them twice a day. She makes sure she obtains the city licences for her dogs every year.

Aunt Janey's 15 year old dog died peacefully in her sleep two months ago. She was sad but glad the dog did not suffer.

On Saturday, Aunt Janey went to her gate with her remaining dog Spunk for their morning walk, his licence on his collar. She realised she had forgotten the stuff to clean up after Spunk on their walk, told Spunk to stay and went back in. She came back out shortly to see Spunk running in terror being pursued by dog shooters in a lorry. She next hears a gunshot and knows what has happened. She rushes down her road to at least take the body of her beloved Spunk but they have taken it away. All she sees is his blood.

Aunt Janey took care of Spunk and Spunk took care of Aunt Janey, a perfect "symbiotic' relationship between a human and another of God's creatures. It was ended by a cruel act of cowards.

Use and Abuse.

I can't understand people who demand and demand. Everything is their right. Don't they understand about privilege?They don't say it they shout it as if if they say it loud enough it becomes true."I have the money so I demand the best, I am entitled!" So goes the refrain.

There are those who believe God has given them dominion over the world and everthing in it, including non human animals. For such of those who don't believe in God, it is their 'superiority" that gives them the right. We have the brains, we have the weapons so we have the right. The right to breed a horse with spindly legs so he can race him, the right to shoot him when he falls in a race and breaks one of those legs and arrange for its "carcase" to be dragged off. The right to let animals lose their homes and starve as more land is needed for bigger profits. The right to get a pedigree dog to show off to your friends and discard it like yesterday's newspaper once it is old, its coat is scraggy, no more a thing to be displayed for the admiration of others. The right to eat veal and fois grais because you have the money and you just love the taste, so to hell with the suffering of the animals concerned.

Just wait a minute. God made us stewards of His world. It is a privilege to have the use of it. We are accountable to God. Even if you do not believe in God, you will still be held accountable by the forces that be, by Mother Earth, whatever.

Ours is not a right to use and abuse. We have been given a privilege, use it the right way.

Celebrations and Waste.

Christmas is over as well as the celebrations for the new year. My resolution is that it be a better year for all life, human, animal and plant. I pray for all of God's creation.

With the end of the most commercially important celebrations in the year,I notice again the waste. The waste of expensive Christmas wrapping paper being torn and thrown. For the 2008 Christmas, we placed each family's presents, unwrapped, in a bag. I don't think it made any difference to the recepients. I have to talk about the waste of food. People tend to load their plates especially at fetivals, and much is left uneaten and thrown away. IF I collected all the thrown out food at Christmas, I would probaably be able to feed all the strays in the country for a day, includiny the animals at shelters. The food if referigated may stretch for days. Think of the food thrown out by hotels.

Then there are the presents. Do most people really think about what the recepients would appreciate and be able to use? It is not the cost that matters. A box of tissues does not cost much and would always be used. It may not be appreciated as a present of cost but I am just trying to make a point.

You may know by now that I am a vegetarian. More animals die before celebrations to feed people. Do we need sentient beings to suffer and die to titilate our palates? A well prepared vegetarian meal is more than satisfying. BTW, a salad or a vegetable dish is not a vegetarian meal for celebrations. There are cookbooks on vegetarian meals and there is the internet. When you eat vegetarian, there is less waste, less use of resources and less pollution. Go vegan if you can. I can't preach on that as I am not vegan. I depend on canned and otherwise ready to eat packaged food and while I can be vegetarian, the vegan is not an option for me. I hope it can some day.

So to all, I wish you a great year and God's blessings. Waste nothing, not even an animal's life.