[woke up @ 3Am with this in my head... it simply would not leave, until it was said]
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You read the title; you know what this is going to be about. I have never written and rarely spoken of this subject in my life. ‘God moves in mysterious ways.’ NOT, ‘Man’ is one cruel and twisted son of a bitch. Do dogs have souls? Most dog lovers would tell you an unequivocal “Hell, YES!”. Dog haters and empathic “NO!”. And because the church has yet to figure out how to get dogs to tithe, from a priest or Father you would hear “Sorry my son/daughter, it was not in God’s plan’ (How the hell do they know that? I’ll touch on that later).
Like all too many of the great truths in life? Your view on canine sentience depends on what you (as an individual or member of a greater organism) must hold as true. Not by fact ,nor experiment, but merely by rote. The dog lover, having loved dogs their entire lives, do not relish the idea of having loved the sentient equivalent of a couch cushion. The dog hater, desperate to not spend eternity in limbo for kicking every fido he ever met, clings to the soulless conclusion they must not. The ‘man of the cloth’, not yet having figured out just exactly how an individual (or organism.. ooops, organization) might gain coin out of the canine, hedges his/her bets. In case you really want to know? Yes, canines have souls… as do felines and hamsters, eagles and squirrels, rats and mice. God was feeling especially generous on that day that souls were assigned to the life forms on Earth. (You may well ask ‘Well, Danny, how do you know?’… and I will turn to you and simply ask ‘How do you not?)
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There was a time, not so very long ago, that white man thought (in his greater evolved brain) that ‘black men’ did not have souls. “Outrageous!” You say, yet I tell you sincerely that the worst, yes the worst my dear reader, is still yet to come… In some places, dark and hate-filled, there are still those who say that a human with dark skin a soul they do not have. This troubles me greatly, as well it should, yet I wonder if all my readers (here today, and tomorrow) might they fell this way, too? For the love of my God, I hope and I pray, that they do not feel, in their hearts, this way.
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So, I think you can see that perspective is clear, we were all created equal we were all created fine. That if there be a God in the heavens, then truly he did find, that dogs and cats, birds and squirrels too, and even the lowly rat he did give a soul too. And who are we to deny this birthright… this life-right to our fellow travelers in time. To have an eternal soul, just like mine. We walk, side by side and at times hand in hand, with these smaller versions of the love God gave man. Yet all too often, they get the back of our hand,
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No, not in a physical way… no, never that direct. But, when you leave that dog or cat, on an empty street (because they just ate the last pair of your slippers they ever will have) do you really believe? Really believe they deserve a life, just like yours and mine? One with love and with comfort, One with kindness and smiles. A life of full of virtue, and life brimming with pride.
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As a young man, in Beverly Hills, I happened to worship with another of the pride of man. In their teachings, I learned, it was man’s destiny… even his responsibility these lesser creatures made by his hand. I was taught that mankind (all of us) were given a charge. A charge as important as commandments wrought in stone, to love and protect those smaller thine own. It was not his expectation, it was his command.
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So, then why won’t you tell me… why do they senselessly die each and every day? They die in the streets, they die in these pounds. They die without reason or rhyme. They die from neglect, they die without pride. They die for our science, they die at our side. They die for no reason, they die out of slough. They die when you hit them, they die when you hide. They die in more ways than I can possibly write… but WHY?
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The Jewish people, they do believe, mankind was given charge, as I mentioned before, to care for all animals this was his charge. Tried, he did, to tell us… a secret therein I did hide. Aye, there’s the rub! From what I understood, in the words they did say, that our fates are intertwined. Inseparable we all are, as it is in our design. If they go down, then we are not far behind. I know some will find this frightening, I know I did at first. Others may see my words as blasphemy, it is not meant that way. Lastly, many will see my words and thoughts as just benign.
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It is them, those that think sentience in lesser beings is benign, that I pity and fear most in my life. A whole world of love and companionship they will never find. Never once, in their lives, will they feel that love that comes from our bond. Not once, will they feel tears in their eyes, thinking of a loved one that no longer “is mine...”.
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There is a reason, for tonight’s rhyme. It is simple, it is truthful and it is mine. Mankind? You are not as alone as you think.
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