After years of misspent youth, during which time I considered animals little more than fleshy, occasionally cute, robots, yours portly has learned the error of his ways and become an animal lover.
Don’t get wrong—I love to eat animals as much as I enjoy keeping them as pets, and I possess a realistic view of animals: they exist to serve us, not the other way around. I love Murphy, and I’ll make sure she is fed, watered, and (when appropriate) medicated. But the day that the vet says, “we can keep her alive another two weeks with this $4000 experimental canine chemotherapy,” it’ll be time to give the old girl a heartfelt goodbye. By comparison, I’d sell my left kidney to the gay mafia if it’d add one day to the life of one of my family members or Dr. Fiancée.
All that said, I now very much see animals as a gift from God. Every child in Sunday School knows that the first job of the first man was to name the animals; God Spared the animals along with humanity when He Commanded Noah to build an ark. Clearly, our relationship with animals is meant to be a fruitful and productive one.
Further, anyone who has ever owned a dog (or even a cat) knows that these creatures have personalities. Sure, I imagine jellyfish don’t lead rich inner lives, but it’s wild and amusing to me how dogs can possess such a range of personalities. Murphy is aloof and anxious, but very much the queen of her domain. Dr. Fiancée’s three-legged mutt is sweet and loving, but has her sassy moments like Murph. My parents’ two rat terriers are cousins and/or half-brothers of some kind (I think they share a grandparent), but despite their genetic similarity, their personalities are nearly opposite (much like human siblings at times).
Do I think dogs have souls? Perhaps not in the way that humans do. But there is a life and intelligence behind the eyes of a dog. Even the most forlorn, neglected mutt possesses something of a shimmer behind his sad eyes. The fact that the eyes can even express emotions suggests there is something deeper there.
Of course, the evolutionist wags will snarkily remark, “we just bred them to reflect qualities we like.” Perhaps. Nevertheless, I’m struck by how human dogs can be, while also being something quite different—in some ways, something even better.
All points worthy of speculation, idle or otherwise. What do you think, dear readers?
With that, here is 12 September 2024’s “TBT: Remarkable Animals“:
The Portly Politico 