Thursday, December 29, 2011

I’ve always been an animal lover.  When I was little and would find an insect struggling in a body of water, its wings saturated so it couldn’t fly, I’d rescue it, cupping it between my hands.  Then I’d let the water drain from between my fingers and gently blow on the wings of the poor creature until it could fly away. 

Though I intellectually understand and can appreciate the laws of nature’s food chain, how one creature is food for another, I don’t want to actually see a kill go down—too sympathetic to the animal that becomes the main course.  While growing up, there was a show I loved to watch called Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Animal Kingdom.  The depicting of nature’s animals was incredible on that show, and I’m grateful for all I learned from it.  But…I did have one misgiving about the series.  The end of each episode contained footage of one of the earlier highlighted animals being chased down by a predator. 

The first time I saw this, I was riveted and didn’t turn away, certain that the producers would never show the actual kill.  Oh…but I was wrong!  Not only was the kill captured and spread across my TV screen, but also the gruesome ripping and shredding of the victim animal would literally turn my stomach.  After that initial episode, I learned to turn away or leave the room during the end of each episode so as to spare myself bearing witness to another kill and eating scene.

Since I’m such an animal lover, I adore reading books that focus on real stories about animals and watching movies about the same.  Recently, I got to watch two such movies, Warhorse and also We Bought A Zoo.  Both were great features centered on the incredible bonds that can fuse humans to animals.  When asked which movie I like best, I couldn’t pick one, for I liked each equally.  One because it was more of a historical drama with breathtaking realistic scenes, era costumes and recreations of impressive battle scenes.  The other movie I adored for the powerful message it delivered about how families can overcome anything if they’re willing to navigate the choppy waters—together.

When it comes to animals, I’m just a big softie.  Always have been…always hope to be.  The animals I seem to gravitate most towards are the underdogs, the ones that seem to be the most wounded, need the most rehabilitation or are in need of an abundance of love and acceptance, which I freely give. 

Whether the animals I’m drawn to are in person, ones I read about between the pages of a book or splashed across the big screen, one thing’s for certain.  A huge part of my heart will always belong to animals.