Animals

Have you ever considered life without animals? I have. My thoughts are within the context of how enriched my life is BECAUSE of animals that when the thought crosses my mind about life without them, its how much more empty things would be for me. I am surrounded by animals. Actually, we all are on this Earth, aren't we? Here at Deer Run, we've got animals in our home, all essentially rescues of some sort. Outside, there's endangered Key deer, endangered sea turtles, shore birds, song birds, hawks, crabs, fish, snakes, wood rats, insects, dogs, cats, and so much more.

What got me to this subject today is I was thinking about people who do not like animals. I've met them, even been quite close to a few of them at various times in my life. However, there's a part of me that immediately is skeptical of one who does not like animals. In the past, I would brush that feeling aside, but as I've gotten older, I'm unwilling to ignore that little voice in my head. Now, I'm not talking about someone who's had a bad experience with an animal (ie: an injury) or an allergy. I'm talking about someone who just does not like animals. I've come to realize that typically is an indicator of someone I do not want to be close to. I guess mostly that's because I'm an "animal person." My whole life, even as a child, my love of animals was nurtured. My mom loved animals, especially cats. Cats loved her too. I think if my mom were still alive, she would be an animal rights advocate.

My dad was a "dog person." He didn't dislike other animals, he just really loved dogs. He loved other people's dogs especially, being someone who didn't want to be tied to the responsibility of having his own dog especially later in life. I had to learn to respect that. I didn't understand it for a long time. Dad came to love a few special cats in his life time too, I think mostly because they had strong "dog-like" attributes, but they were still felines through and through.

Animals teach us many important things: sleeping when we need it, how to thoroughly enjoy a good meal, the importance of stretching, the importance of making time to play, loyalty, patience, and of course love.

How can someone not love something that is, at their core, all about love. I am profoundly grateful for the animals, and simply cannot imagine how incomplete my life would be without them.

Today, I spent a lot of time looking at all the animals inside and outside my home. I could spend all day just doing this... watching animals. Hours of entertainment, you know what I mean, don't you? I'm going to post some pictures soon of animals around here. Tonight, won't you give some extra thanks for the animals. Ask the Universe to watch over and protect them. It is a very different world the animals live in, often times full of bad things. They can use all the help they can get.