Animals Animals Animals

After my mom died, I started making daily visits to the cemetery. It was good for me in a couple of ways; it helped me continue to have a sense of connection with her (and still does) and it was good exercise as well, allowing me to release some physical tension.

On a lot of my visits, I would run into an older guy from my hometown, someone I have known casually for a long time. He's in his eighties and he just lost his wife a couple of years ago. Like me, he visits her grave often (every day I think) and usually it's around the time that I go over.

I noticed he brought his little dog on one occasion, a terrier of some kind. He let it loose and it ran around the cemetery a bit. We talked briefly, and he commented to me that the dog was "the only reason I don't stick my head in an oven". That comment kind of took me by surprise, but only for a second, as I instantly realized how what he said really reflected the power that a pet can have in our life.

There are lots of good reasons to own pets. Dogs are good protectors, cats are good mousers, and both are interesting animals to observe and interact with. But in the end, the strongest argument for owning them is simple, powerful companionship. No, they can't talk, they can't exchange ideas and thoughts about the world in general. But they can and do listen. They care about you, and your welfare. They can sit beside you and comfort you in your darker moments. I have always thought that animals (mine at least) know when you are feeling poorly, whether physically or emotionally. They seem to spend extra time with you, nuzzling you and lying next to (or sometimes on top of) you. They are very empathic creatures.

I think all of us, even pet lovers, tend to do them a disservice when we consider them to be very much unlike ourselves. In many ways, of course, they are; they don't live nearly as long, they have a more limited range of communication, they certainly LOOK a lot different, and they don't know the first thing about clothes. But if you really think about it, our similarities far outweigh our differences. We both need food, water and shelter. We both crave attention and affection. We both like to play, and to be outside and to exercise. We both get sick, feel moody, and don't like getting old. I look at my cats sometimes and I swear we both know exactly what the other is thinking. Maybe it's just because we've been together for so long, or maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part. But there's an undeniable connection there that goes far beyond the traditional master/pet paradigm.

I don't know how much of the universe is planned, and how much is random. A casual perusal of the daily news would seem to indicate that a depressingly high percentage of it is awfully, brutally, random. But I often wonder if that special bond between man and animals wasn't almost certainly planned. My friend at the cemetery has his life saved daily by the shared existence he has with his pet. That's an extreme, and admittedly poignant, example, but aren't we all in some way or another, enriched by our animals? Isn't it nice to come home after a terrible day at work, where you seem to be battered from left and right and taken almost completely for granted, and see the smiling face of your pet waiting for you? Isn't it great to feel his warmth snuggle next to you in bed while the harsh winter winds howl around your house? Isn't it nice to pet your animal and know that for that moment you are their entire world?

I sure think it is.

Can all those wonderful gifts just be random, things that just happened to work out well? Or isn't it just possible that animals are here to help us feel less alone, and loved unconditionally? Perhaps animals, in their absolute lack of pretense and guile, really help to connect us to what is real and lasting in our lives, reminding us of so many essential elements of life; friendship, loyalty, love, even our own mortality. Unlike the foggy, pseudo reality we all trudge through every day, animals live purely in the the "real"; they are like the spirit of nature, distilled into a pure, moving (often shaggy) form that can interact with us and inform us.

Whatever the truth is about animals, their power is unquestionable. How many people are there out there right now like my friend, being given daily purpose and motivation by their pets? How many lonely, isolated souls are being brightened and strengthened by a wagged tail, or a soft purr?

They are unlike us, and yet, they ARE us in so many important ways. That is both animals' essential paradox and possibly the key to their significance in our lives. They reflect back all that is human and yet they also reinforce our connection to our world and each other.

The next time your pet looks into your eyes and begs for food, or to be let out or asks to be paid attention to, take a moment to look back into those eyes and really think about what you are looking at and how truly wonderful it is.