Wednesday, December 29, 2010

THE NEW YEAR, FORGIVENESS AND MICHAEL VICK

The President of the United States seems to be of the opinion that Michael Vick deserves our forgetfulness over the myriad and heinous acts of cruelty toward animals that he either directly committed or that were committed on behalf of his despicable dog fighting ring.

I don't care what the President thinks, he should keep those thoughts to himself. There is value in unexpressed opinions. Particularly when it comes to Michael Vick's egregious transgressions.

We are coming up on the New Year and during the past few months, Michael Vick has been having great good fortune on the football field. Meanwhile, many of his victims - those that didn't have to be killed because they were so horrendously damaged - are continuing to try to live a life that has some love, some comfort and some feeling of security, despite the bountiful love being showered upon them.

So dear Lord, forgive me if I find it really hard to forget what Michael Vick has done to damage (almost beyond repair) animals who never did him any harm whatsoever. I look at my sister's pit bull mix, Zeus who is an animal born in safety and raised with devotion and lavish affection, and I must repress the urge to thrash Mr. Vick within an inch of his life, jolt him with massive amounts of electrical current and then hold his head underwater until he understands the terror of near-drowning that the animals in his "care" experienced.

Our animal companions are God's gift to us - and a test of our humanity! I can only think of the much-loved and greatly-lamented Sam the Wonder Cat and the many hang-ups he had due to his very rough start in life. Yes, he had 10 years of love and devotion from me. And yet, as he got older, that really wasn't enough and his suspicion of strangers became almost pathological. Thus he was denied the overwhelming love that many people are able to shower on Rusty and Buddy because they both are willing to accept the affection of other humans. Especially humans who offer treats!

Folks, it's really quite simple. We aren't really here for our own pleasure and our own self-indulgence. We're here to support and respect each other and care for those less fortunate than ourselves, including the cats and dogs we encounter along the way. They cannot speak. They can't say - "Hey, that HURTS!" or "Stop teasing me endlessly!" They can only slink away and hide from us and hope that they encounter kinder humans. Sadly, many of them do not.

In this New Year, I urge you to rescue a cat or a dog. Make room in your life for a creature who will give you far more than you give them. Stroking the soft fur of a cat or a dog is conducive to lower blood pressure. You can tell your cat or dog your deepest secrets, cry in their fur, lament your lot in life and they won't judge. You can have the worst hair day of your life - they won't judge. That alone makes giving a home to a dog or kitty an excellent idea!

No comments: