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Date: Thu, 23 May 2013 21:26:54 +0200

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Quote:

Thoughts Chase Thoughts
Pets and other animals including humans
http://thoughtschasethoughts.blogspot.com/2012/01/pets-and-other-animals-including-humans.html

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Text:

Years ago, when I was twelve, or whatever, I realized that the pets that I had had all had people names, not typical pet names. I take this fact now as a bit of a Buddhist Badge of Honor. My dog was named Susie; my hamster was Lisa; and my parakeet was Gus. I don’t know that I thought of them as people – they certainly weren’t shaped like humans – but I accorded them a kind of respect. I could not and cannot understand the Christian idea that non-human animals are lesser than people. They don’t have souls, say the Christians, and thus don’t go to heaven and we shouldn't worry about eating them. In every way of any importance, humans and sentient non-human animals are the same: We all are born and die and suffer in the interim.

Today, at age 57, I talk to animals that I see in the wild or pass on the street – usually saying something like this: “How ya doing, Mr. Dog?” “What’s wrong?  What are you screeching about, Scrubby?”* “Nice collar, Mr. Cat.”

My evil sister [who, like Mephistopheles, has some good points] named her first pet, a parakeet, Happy. Not a human name, but a wonderful name. She had other non-people-named pets – Pucky, a dog, was one – but began to use human names when she was older. She was very good to her pets, in contrast to her treatment of humans.

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* Said to my favorite bird -- or, at least, a species I know well -- California's scrub jay.

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