Thursday, January 31, 2008

Brett the Vet - No More Fake Love Affairs

Self-confessed lovers of life-enhancing pursuits sometimes create a puzzling logic as to how this love is distributed.

Dog lover buys a puppy and locks him in the backyard for protection. He never leaves the yard. He grows up without socialising among other people or dogs. He is fed dry ‘dog food’ biscuits ad lib, and barks all day for attention. He is kept chained up later because he attacks anything that moves, including the hand that feeds him. After three years of solitary confinement police are called to shoot the dog.

Dogs are social creatures who would normally live in packs. Dogs thrive on attention. Their senses are highly developed and respond to even the slightest smells, sounds, sights, tastes, and physical contact.

The expression of emotions from happiness to sadness, exhilaration and grief, is obvious. Dogs are friendly to humans and naturally trusting. If the master is threatened they will protect him or her with their lives.

Cat lover afraid to let pussy outdoors has her claws surgically removed to stop furniture scratching. The operation, equivalent of removing fingertips, frequently fails resulting in areas where the bones push through the skin making walking extremely painful.

Cats are highly individualistic territorial felines. Nine interesting lives full of risk and adventure, leisure and exertion are used up. Carpe diem. Sharp nails for hunting and self protection grace the ends of eighteen digits. Stimulation builds character, and communication is vital for understanding another way of thinking.

Lamb lover with elastic bands spends the day with the flock under solitary shade tree. Male lambs are isolated and elastic bands placed tightly over their testicles. They bleat and writhe. Physiological needs urge them to continue suckling. After a few days the testicles become gangrenous and drop off. These sheep shy away from human contact.

This technique gets applied inappropriately to other species with varying results. A sheep dog victim died after necrosis spread from the genitals to extensive surrounding areas.

It cannot be refuted that all male animals feel excruciating pain, like man, when their genitals are mutilated without anaesthetic.

Bird lover keeps a collection of bright and loud exotic birds in small cages. It is legal to do this with birds from another country but not for indigenous species. Captive wild birds plead for freedom. Meals provided are unvaried. Some individuals even pair up and breed.

Chicken lover refuses to slaughter surplus pet roosters that gang rape humble hen flock. Restaurant roast chicken of unquestioned origin may have lived a brief and miserable life in crowded, filthy conditions. No sunlight, poor ventilation, stale fish diet laced with antibiotics and growth hormones, will do.

Nature lover enjoys quad biking, hunting, and fishing.

Food lover feeds Fifi feasts fattening and fatal. At five, four foot ligaments fray as she falls from her favourite feather fantasy. Obesity leads to diabetes and heart failure. She is nursed to death through years of discomfort and suffering.

Lover of life, cultivating a sense of empathy, compassion, and respect for all living beings through non-violence, consciously expands awareness to fully realise common values manifest in the interconnection of all things.

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