THE FINAL WORD: PET EDITION
Why Adoption Is Vital to Our Society
Mahatma Gandhi once said, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” Truer words were never spoken when it came to the realities of animal welfare.
Let that quote set in for a moment when I tell you this was said over 100 years ago. Yes, a century has passed since these words were uttered by a brilliant man in a then third world nation who fought Colonial oppression his entire life against a people who claimed to be moral and righteous. Now, we all have a way of being correct when talking about the moral and ethical vacuum history possesses.
After all, hindsight is 20/20. But Gandhi made this statement in real time. It also wasn’t a statement he made once or twice. He said it many times throughout his life. In other words, he was not reflecting on anything other than the current philosophy of what a great nation should be, versus what he and his people were told was a great empire, living under British Colonial rule.
While we fancy ourselves to be a modern, caring and inclusive society, we sure don’t act like it when it comes to animal welfare. Now, to be fair, as per Best Friends Animal Society statistics, in 1984 there were 17,000,000 shelter animals dying in this country. Today that number hovers around 400,000. Yes, that is a marked difference. But, as far as I am concerned, there are still far too many innocent lives being euthanized for the most absurd reasons known to humankind.
Think about this: in major urban metro areas, in one of the largest countries on Earth, dogs and cats are being euthanized for space. SPACE. If that doesn’t make a dent in your soul, I don’t know what will. Especially when you consider that the United States is largely considered to be the wealthiest, overall, on the planet. Our priorities are completely backward.
Here is another crime we are guilty of: animals are viewed as property. Okay, now in the 1970’s and 1980’s, I could understand this still being the situation. But in 2025 when the majority of pet parents refer to their pets as part of the family? How has the law not caught up? How are animals still being treated like an accessory or a car? Shouldn’t that be a crime?
More importantly, how are internet and backyard breeders still even allowed to function legally? Think about this: if you had a human breeding operation in Small Town USA, don’t you think the riots would be of record proportion? The most basic definition of a sentient being is that of one who is self-aware. Dogs and cats clearly show emotion. They show self-awareness. So how are they still property? Is that not a form of slavery? In the United States, dogs and cats are not part of the food chain, so please don’t start talking at me about farm animals which have fed our population since 1776.
It is illegal in this country to treat dogs and cats as food. But we are allowed to treat them like a Chevy just purchased off dealership lot. How does that make sense?
The one thing I don’t understand right now, especially in light of what I have said above is how Hollywood hasn’t pushed for more. It seems in recent years, studios and networks are actually doing nothing to help. When I was a child, Bob Barker always closed out The Price is Right with “Remember to neuter and spay your pet.” We had re-runs of Lassie. Dogs and cats littered pop culture across the board. Hell, even the brilliant Brent Spiner’s android character on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Data, had a cat named Spot. Granted Tim Gunn has pushed Krypto the dog back into the mix in this summer’s revival of Superman. But that’s it.
Herein lies my point; in 2025 in the United States we owe it to our furrever ones to treat them with more dignity and respect. We owe it to the millions of animals that care for and comfort us when we are sad. We owe it to the nearly 200 million American dogs and cats that bring such joy and happiness to over 66% of this country’s population every day. We need to stop senseless euthanization and illegal breeders right now. And EVERYONE needs to chip in including politicians and celebrities.
THE FINAL WORD
I am ashamed that animal euthanization takes place in this country. And you should be too. We are far better than this. And in the spirit of the holiest time of year, please help by making a commitment to do better. I wish all of you a Happy Easter, Happy Passover, or, for those who do not celebrate, peace and good health in life.
