From my Living the Life of Riley Facebook page. Inspired by another Dog Mom whose sweet dog had survived being a second round bait dog, and had the scars to prove it. Reduced to tears by incredibly thoughtless words that never needed to be said. For those that don't know, Riley's page is a vehicle to chronicle his life with epilepsy and it is written from his perspective, so the use of "we" below refers to his fellow animals.
Original Post Date: November 18, 2014
Here is my thought for the day.
Lots of people look at animals differently. For some, we are surrogate children. We are given the powers to talk, to reason, to feel - even though our folks know deep down we really can't in the same way. Yes, we communicate, but not with words. We feel and we express it, but not in response to things the same way. You could curse us in a sweet voice and we ...would wag our tails ninety to nothing. Likewise you could scream I love you in your ugliest voice and we would cower. Others view us as "just animals". Incapable of emotion. Not worthy of worry or effort. Disposable. Replaceable. And some fall somewhere in between.
If you don't know where on the spectrum the human holding a dog's leash falls, then be mindful of your comments. Don't say "she's fat", "he's ugly", "why don't you put him down?", "what's wrong with her?". Maybe WE don't feel the sting of your words, but our families do. And they hurt. Same with people. Of course, some of the people we see making these comments wouldn't think twice about saying them to a human. They are just mean, rude, people. But some people are just thoughtless. The words slip out before realized, or before they can be stopped. They think they are talking to something that won't understand their words without really understanding that is not the case.
Mom tells every new member or our team (vets, specialists, whomever) not to suggest anything to her or Dad that they themselves would not like to have recommended by their own pediatrician. That is where they fall on the scale. We fully recognize that not everyone feels that way. We don't judge. Every family has to make the decisions that are right for them. Likewise we don't want to be judged. And often these voiced "opinions" feel like judgments. My mom and dad know when one of my siblings has put on weight, or when I'm wobbly and not walking well. It doesn't need to be pointed out.
So, remember, the Golden Rule applies to creatures with legs - two or four. Do unto others as you would have done unto you.
And if you can't say something nice, shut up.
