Just Another Reason

When people find out I am a vegetarian, I usually get the myriad of questions and opinions.........

Why??!!
What do you eat if you don't eat meat?
How do you get your protein?
But meat tastes so good!
Well I couldn't ever do that.
Animals were made to be eaten.
Animals cannot feel anything.
God made animals for us to eat.

Seriously, I could go on and on. Usually I just smile and let the person talk and very rarely do I comment. This is my choice and while it is not the lifestyle for everyone, it is the best choice for me. The one type of comment that just boils my blood is the statements about animals being created to eat/they are less then humans/they do not feel. This just pisses me off beyond words. Just because they cannot talk with words doesn't mean animals cannot feel emotional and physical pain! Animals can feel hunger, they can feel the pain of an injury, they can feel scared.  Think about your pet; I know my dogs get quite excited when I walk in the door. They cannot wait to jump up, get a pat on the belly and sometimes they even bark back at me when I talk to them (Want a treat? Let's go for a walk.). My dog Miles gets frequent ear infections. I know he feels pain when his ear is infected because I have held him in my lap as he whimpered and hung his head in pain. I have watched deer in the woods behind my house raise their tails on alert as they sense danger around them (usually my barking dogs!). To say that an animal deserves to die simply because they cannot speak is abhorable.

Now, I know most people do not eat dogs, but I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to post this video. The dog in the video is being reunited with her owner after the owner served a year in the Middle East. There is no way anyone can tell me this animal is not expressing her emotions. It is very clear that this animal is beyond excited that her master is back with her. Listen to the pup whimper and cry (for over a minute!), watch her tail wag, look at her body curl up as close as possible to her loving owner. This animal, like every other living thing, has feelings. Reason number ONE why I live a vegetarian lifestyle.......

http://www.godvine.com/Mommy-and-Doggy-Reunite-After-a-Year-Apart-343.html