My wife and I do not have pets. Both our children and their partners do. All of my brothers and sisters do; I'm not as certain about my wife's siblings. When I encounter a dog while out walking I stop and allow the animal to make the first move. Despite rumors to the contrary I do not attempt to influence the outcome by wearing liverwurst aftershave. I don't even know where to buy liverwurst aftershave.
On occasion someone will drive by with a car window open and a dog's head sticking out of it. I've even seen dogs' heads popping up through the sun/moon roofs in vehicles and the looks on their faces is always similar if indescribable and unfathomable to me.
I feed the squirrels in my neighborhood peanuts we buy at one of the warehouse clubs and go through about twenty pounds of them a month (if you're telling time in elephants, that's about two minutes I suspect), and my wife has hummingbird feeders.
I've often wondered 'What goes on in there?' when interacting with any and all sorts of animals, most especially with cats who usually bewilder and confuse me (though from what I'm seen, I'm not alone in that). And while I don't think this article is anything close to the definitive answer, it goes a long way to offering me some insights into how creatures I don't often regard as 'sentient' in human terms do think and why.
And, let's face it, If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal would look great on a tee-shirt especially if you were a volunteer helper at an animal shelter.
-bill kenny
No comments:
Post a Comment