We’re an Animal Crazy Bunch

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

Last week while I was back in my hometown in NJ, for some reason I was thinking a lot about humans beings’ relationships with animals. If you’ve read this blog before, you can probably tell how big of an animal lover I am. I’m the girl who feeds stray cats in my neighborhood; who almost hit a dog with my car once, then took him home with me for days while looking for his owner. I’ve always had a big heart for animals. Spend about 30 seconds in my parents’ home, and you can see where my love for animals originated…

There’s Rosco, our 12-year old dog that we adopted after he was found as a puppy in a drain pipe:

My favorite cat Molly…

…who was the tiniest little fur ball when we got her, weighing in at 1 pound:

Beau, the kitty whose had a chronic upper respiratory infection since my family got him a few years ago (despite tons of meds and vet visits). The poor guy constantly walks around sniffling and sneezing:

The newest addition, my sister’s bearded dragon Zazoo:

The cat who we all believe has a serious psychological disorder, Sophie:

And then there’s one more cat who I can’t find a photo of. We call him LT, which stands for Little Tiger, because he looks and acts like a tiger.

Each of the animals have their quirks, but we love them just the same. My family sees its pets as part of the family. That’s why when I hear horrendous stories of people harming animals, or even people just treating their animals more like possessions than living creatures, I have a hard time fathoming it. I think that a big part of my adoration for animals is something I learned growing up, but part of me also believes that I was just born with an innate feeling to love them. How else can I explain why I was adamant on becoming a vegetarian at age 10 while everyone surrounding me was (and still is) a meat-eater?

Question: In the debate of nature verses nurture, which one plays a larger role in a person’s like/dislike for animals? 

I believe that overall, the environment you grow up in is the biggest determinant of your attitude towards animals and their worth. I think that as a general rule of thumb, people who grow up in homes where animals are present and treated well tend to like animals and treat them well themselves as adults. And the same is true for the opposite scenario.

A few animals I spent time with today –

Here’s a shot of my favorite dog from the Humane Society tonight, Jilly:

She had such a sweet personality.

This afternoon I had a bit of time to take Harley to the park to play. She obviously had a blast running around and basking in the sunshine (and refusing to look at me when I pointed my iPhone at her!):

“He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.” – Immanuel Kant