Animals vs. Humans - Round 1

On the rare occasions I actually watch TV, I usually alternate between "Jeopardy," "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations," or some variation of "Animal Cops," be it in Miami or New York or Houston or whatever. Tonight I'm chilling on the couch after a light dinner with the boyfriend, and I decided I'm entitled to a bit of TV watching... So "Animal Cops Miami" it is. But on the commercial breaks, I clearly need something to flip to. Enter "Intervention."

This show makes me realize how I truly cannot stand people and their problems. They seem so trite, so meaningless... I'm sorry you have an addiction to prescription drugs, Mrs. Suburban Housewife. But there are puppies who have no food or water and are literally being eaten alive by ticks and fleas that are sucking their blood because their white trash owner couldn't take the time to be even marginally responsible... Could you spare some of your drug money to help them? Could you put down the bottle for just a moment and realize how pathetic you are?

I try so hard to care about people more than animals, but I just don't have it in me. I do care about children, I suppose, especially when they can't read or have been abused. A child who has been abused and who can't read is probably my worst nightmare. Women have a tough time, too. My sympathy, however, ends there, especially when it comes to people in the Western world who live in their fancy houses and feel the need to ruin their lives and their family's lives with their selfishness. I simply cannot get worked up over people's problems (especially self-made problems) when animals cannot fend for themselves, when we have created them as breeds to fit our liking, have created their wants and needs, and yet we starve and beat and neglect and torture them for no other reason than ignorance and cruelty and plain indifference.

I understand there are innocent people in the world who have had traumatic experiences that lead to addiction and depression and cause them to act out in horrible ways... But at some point there's just no hope for them, which is why I probably only really care about helping children. There's some hope still there, clinging on... And I do understand that at a certain point, there is no hope for certain animals. Some have experienced horrible trauma and cannot be rehabilitated, or they are dangerous to people...namely children... And time can be better spent helping others who still have a chance, so I do not disagree with euthanasia. The thing is, I feel that animals are and always will be innocent, and that's why I will always prefer to help them.

I feel we, as power-wielding humans, have such an immense responsibility to animals, so I would much rather put my time and money toward saving and helping and rehabilitating them. Thus, the only organizations I donate to are focused solely on those goals. I frankly don't trust the people my money might "help" to actually better their own pathetic and broken lives... Which is most likely why I would never donate to the organization I work for, as sad as it seems...

If faced with saving a baby and saving a puppy from a burning building, I would choose the baby, yes... humans do come first, especially the little ones. At a certain point, however, I feel that humans are just absolutely horrible and hopeless and just make me sick. So if I'm in a burning building and I'm faced with saving a grown human who was abused and traumatized and is therefore violent and dangerous, or a dog of the same nature... Well, I'll be honest. Yeah, I'd choose the dog... Look at all those dogs who were rescued from that cretin Michael Vick... They're therapy dogs, for fuck's sake.

I feel that there are simply not enough people in the world who have that soft spot for animals, so I might as well follow my heart and help where I feel I'm most needed. I can only be true to myself, right? And I know this is right for me, because I can read and watch and listen about horrible things that happen to people all over the world and throughout history and it can involve blood and war and murder and rape and torture and all sorts of horrible things... and somehow it just doesn't move me like it probably should. If I read even a sentence about an animal that is starving or abused or killed... Ohdeargod, I get a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach, real nausea of the worst kind. Even thinking about it, my hands are shaking and I'm just filled with rage...and sorrow.

I had to reach out and pet my cat for a moment just to feel better. Speaking of the cat, I picked her up off the street and knew I would have her forever... As much as she loves to scratch and bite and attack me as I walk by her chair, she's just amazing and adorable and if anyone ever did anything to hurt her I would probably kill them. Just looking at her little white paws and her tiny broken tail (I don't want to know how that happened), I realize I am so happy to have a precious little creature in my life who will never stab me in the back or steal my money or do drugs or hurt anyone...EVER. Animals are the ultimate, perfect friends.

I don't trust people who don't like animals... Obviously I want anyone who hurts animals to die a horrible death, but I don't run into them often. What I don't get is when I meet people who just "don't like animals." They make me want to run in the opposite direction. I frankly don't want to have anything to do with them. There is something that I feel SHOULD BE innate in people to be caring and loving and kind and that should extend to animals. And if it doesn't... Well, I think it's clear what would happen should we end up in a burning building together.