Sugar

Whenever I go to the pet store, as I did today to get some crickets for my arachnids, I like to go over to the cages that hold cats for adoption. There are often at least one or two cats, mostly older cats, for adoption. Today was no exception. Sleeping in the back of one of the lower level cages was an orange and black cat that woke when I started talking to her. I called out kitty, kitty, kitty, a few time and stock my finger into one of the holes in the Plexiglas face that provides air flow. The kitty got up and came over and stuck her head into my finger and enjoyed the scratching that I was able to give her. She moved along the front of the cage and I was able to scratch her body some. Just as I was beginning to move my finger to another hole closer to her head the sales person came with my crickets and I had to leave.

More often than not, these poor animals were abandoned by their owners. Left to fend for themselves or turned out by families barely able to take care of themselves; yet somehow they managed to bring these animals into their homes with little or no regard to their ability to take care of them. Also, more often than not these same people often have more kids than they can take care of and these cats and dogs are often given to the kids as pets. It might be wrong to say that the arrival of these animals at the pet shelters is a result of negligence and irresponsibility, but this is New Mexico, a state that rivals some third worlds in the number of animals that are abandoned to the streets. There is an epidemic of cats and dogs that breed out of the house all because the owners inability (and unwillingness) to have those animals spaded and neutered.

How man came to have dominion over this world and the lesser creatures is all a matter of your viewpoint. Was he given such by his creator or had he evolved to dominion via his own superior intelligence? Regardless, his responsibilities toward the lesser creatures of this planet have been far less that his supposed intelligence might dictate that he should have. How we treat our lesser creatures is a reflection of how we treat each other; and it is easy to see that we do a dismal job at both tasks. After all, study after study has demonstrated a direct connection between how some people treat animals and their socio-and psycho-pathic behavior (including narcissistic behavior); many of the most notorious serial killers admitted to committing acts of animal cruelty.

The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated. – Mahatma Gandhi

My little dachshund Sugar is my daily inspiration. She cannot use her back legs in a normal way. She walks, in a fashion, in that she can get up on her four legs and move right along, but if she had an itch she could not use her back legs to scratch that itch. It is called it spinal walking. Recently, because the tile floors in my home are slick she has taken to scooting along on her butt, pulled forward by her front legs. But when it is time to go for a walk she is up and excited and no matter how far we walk, to the point that she is having trouble keeping her back legs under her, she keeps moving right along, even if it means dragging her butt on the pavement. She protests vociferously whenever I pick her up to carry her. She wants to be on the ground moving under her own power. She doesn’t know that she is crippled, that her back legs don’t work like they should. None of that matters to her when it is time to go for a walk. When I severely broke my leg a few years ago and could not walk except with crutches, I tried hard not to complain. How could I, when here was this little dog, which would never be able to walk normally, always ready to go and never complaining, except when being carried.

It is always amazing to me that animals that are treated with such inhumane cruelty will somehow find a way to wag their tails for the very people that are committing the acts of cruelty. Dogs give unconditionally to their owners. Every day is a new day full of promise and everything is a favorite thing to do. How wonderful it would be if humans could adopt this attitude.

So, when I see these abandoned animals, living in a cage rather than in a warm loving home, it breaks my heart and makes me wonder about the future of the human race – especially in my home country. It is a reflection of who we are as a species.

Get up, be happy, be grateful, be joyous in life and give and love unconditionally – live like you pet.