A reader named Anne introduced me to Kathy Stevens’ blog: Where the Blind Horse Sings. Kathy runs an animal shelter in the Catskills, and I’ve just ordered her book. Kathy has a lot to say about animal rights, the cruelty-free lifestyle, and anthropomorphism.
I have a hard time with the concept of anthropomorphism. I work with animals every single day. They arrive at Catskill Animal Sanctuary broken and fearful, and over time, we watch them blossom–often into enormous and unforgettable characters. Interestingly, the process is similar from animal to animal: first they trust their caretakers–those who give them food, shelter and love day after day. Then we watch in delight as they generalize to visitors. Indeed, there is no greater joy than participating in the transformation of these broken spirits, and watching them evolve as dark memories are replaced by consistent positive experience.
How is it that so many people use the term “anthropomorphism” so freely? The impetus for my book Where the Blind Horse Sings: Love and Healing at an Animal Sanctuary was the startling similarity in the emotional lives of humans and animals. Ask anyone at Catskill Animal Sanctuary or come visit or volunteer and discover for yourself: we’d be hard-pressed to name an emotion that animals don’t possess. They display love, tenderness, joy, curiosity, impatience, anger, jealousy, grief and a host of other emotions generally considered the domain of humans. The greatest among the animals display things like courage and compassion…
It is surely true that animals process many things differently than humans do. It is also true that all of the great emotions are genuinely universal. It is not wishful thinking that causes us to believe that the animals in our lives feel pleasure, feel joy, feel grief. And the more aware that we become that other living creatures are sentient and have feelings, the greater our responsibility towards them.
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