"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."
~Gandhi
"I care not for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it." ~Abraham Lincoln
"The question is not, "can they reason?" nor "can they talk?" but rather, "Can they suffer?" ~Jeremy Bentham
In my second grade classroom, we have a morning routine called the Animal of the Day. I have a deck of 'Animal Cards' and, each day, I pick a child to pick our animal. We discuss the animal and then children guess what he 'means'. In native american culture, as well as many other nature based practices, animals have strong symbolism. For example, the wolf is the Pathfinder and Teacher, the dove stands for peace and inspiration; the dog, not surprisingly, stands for Loyalty and Friendship.
Every day, animals are a part of my students' learning. If I am not teaching them about animals, they are exposed to our classroom 'pets' (fish tank, snakes, gecko, insects...). I have also brought my dogs, which gave the children incredible joy (dogs are now banned from the school at all times based on (probably) one teacher's complaint, but that is another post...it's interesting how much children love dogs (and how much they would benefit having them around the classroom all day...personally, I think many behavior problems would vanish) and how so many adults have lost this one connection to nature).
By teaching these kids about animals and how to care for animals, it is my hope that they will grow up and, not only care for animals, but their fellow humans. Compassion is universal.
It is my opinion that if a people (a nation, a tribe, a community...) do not treat animals with compassion, they are not going to treat humans compassionately. No matter what you might think, we are no better than animals. We DO have a greater responsibility, though, and that is to care for the animals and our planet. Isn't it a fact that man has ignored his role as nature's caretaker? Why is our planet in its current, sorry state?
I'm going to repeat myself: no other animal has aligned himself with man, for man's greater good, than the Dog. The Horse is a close second in his role helping man advance; but the horse did not choose to help us. He was forced. Unlike the dog who, according to many studies, did choose us over his wild brothers. I believe where dogs are revered and treated compassionately, humans are as well. Where dogs are not treated well, you find people divided and, in my opinion, women treated badly with less rights than men. In the cultures where dogs are seen as dirty, sadly, so are women. Every people has its problems. Certainly, the United States does. But it is also a nation where I, as a woman, have freedoms. I can have my dogs and share them with others...and my opportunities to do so are equal to that of a man. We are all one and the same in this life. We owe it to our fellow humans, and ourselves, to treat all of our planet's creatures with compassion and reverence.
St. Francis said it best:
"If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men." and, dare I say, women.
