Loyal, unconditionally loving, unadulterated joy that comes bounding to greet you at the door:
No matter how hard the day, how uncompromising the work, how rude the other drivers, how judgmental or cruel the world (or your own self talk)--
--adorableness is waiting to capture your attention with play...
--playfulness is waiting to heal your wounds, to soften the edge, to lighten your burdens, to make you laugh with silly antics...
--affection is waiting to win your heart...
--love is waiting to teach you so many things:
--like that animals have feelings too, and emotional needs. That your pets miss you when you're gone, and need your attention and understanding. That your pets feel love, and joy, and jealousy, and hurt--emotional hurt--and depression...all the same feelings you do.
--That other animals have feelings too, to whatever degree...and needs.
--and what it means to be truly civilized. That a measure of how civilized we are, is how we treat the other life forms on this planet.
Here's some information on the topic of animal rights, some groups that protect animals, and some groups that rescue and also adopt out rescued animals to families:
These are just a few examples, to get you thinking. Letting animals into your heart will forever change how you look at the world...will forever change YOU. You will never be able to walk through life unconscious again. Love at your own risk.
(All photos on this blog post were taken with a cell phone camera, so please forgive the quality. The model is Ms. Stevie "Nicky" Nicks of Fort Wayne, Indiana. And yes, she loves to get fan mail telling her how wonderful and beautiful and adorable she is. Like most entertainers, she has a big ego which must be daily fed.)
