In the beginning, there was Dog. Dog ran wild across the land in packs, observed Man and found him good. Dog found Man to be a source of food, warmth and a partner against competing predators.
In the beginning, there was Man. Man lived in family groups and envied Dog running fleetly across the land. Man found Dog to be a skilled hunter and a partner against competing predators.
Man and Dog chose each other Millennia ago, to the lasting benefit of both. By assisting with hunting, protection & companionship; dogs and the myriad varieties of dog bred in this time are a significant part of what has made us human. Simply put, without dogs humans might not have evolved as they did. Without humans, the diversity of dog types would not exist.
A movement exists that seeks to shatter this bond that has endured for thousands of years under the misnomer of Animal Rights. In its current form, Animal Rights claims to protect the ‘rights of animals’, co-opting the language of the anti-slavery movement to shame us into providing rights without responsibility to animals. Animal Rights strives to tug at our heartstrings so that we hand them the power to act for the well-being of animals who cannot speak to their own wants, wishes or needs; in an effort to break this lasting bond that has served us both so well.
We, in modern society, have the dubious luxury of lacking any direct contact or real understanding of the animals that have allowed us to develop to this level. Divorced of any true connection with the natural world, it becomes easy to believe in the illusion of an Eden for animals in the absence of human involvement.
We forget the hawk kills the rabbit to eat
We forget Bambi risks a harsh, slow death by starvation every winter
We forget that Nature is red in tooth and claw
We forget that to ‘companion animals’ basic food, water and company are all they need or want for a full life.
We forget that we need them, we are bred for it and that they need us, as they were bred for it. Not by tens or hundreds of years, but for thousands.
We forget that rights are meaningless to those who have no concept of rights, pawns to an unnatural agenda
Copyright 2009 by Erica Saunders
All rights reserved
