We are Animals

Prior to writing this, I had just finished dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Reading the animal narratives truly personified the life of the animals. Had I chosen to eat meat for dinner, would I know the story of the once-animal before me? The choice to eat meat has recently been marked by "Disposition to treat human beings and animals with consideration and compassion, and to relieve their distresses; kindness, benevolence=humaneness" (410). Every time I thought of ordering a chicken enchilada I could picture the face of a bird staring right back at me. Im my opinion, this consideration for the treatment of animals breaks down the dichotomization of how we perceive animals. Despite their "inferiority" to humans, we must still treat every earthling with equal benevolence. 

Through the narratives of the dog, we learn that not only do other animals possess a full conscious, but they feel. I think this is most solidified as the narrator describes the obstacles and adversaries she encounters as she leads a pack of dogs. Through the tale, we can imagine the world through the eyes of another earthing. Through this personification, we often feel more sympathy towards the other--- in this case, the dogs. She says, "I am the Alpha and the Homer, but thinks always happen to me, never to Ann, who, despite her gracelessness, has the slippery luck of a fish, and glides or blunders through things untouched" (416). Just like we do, she faces problems in life, has relationships with others, she loves, and she lives. Although we don't understand the emotions of other animals, we must always preserve their wellbeing at the equal threshold of how we would treat another human. We wouldn't lock our kids up in cages, or tie them to a tree for days. Just like any human would, the dogs says, "I was made to experience this world" (420).