This is the master of our house, Blaze, a few years back. He’s 15 now so there’s a little less scaling fences and hunting pigeons and more lying around the house tuning into the mood of the house. Our big furball gets upset when someone raises their voice and makes deep eye blinks at me when the day’s about to do me in. Anyone who is in the company of animals know that they can sometimes feel us better than humans.
On April 10th 1886, the philanthropist and diplomat Henry Bergh founded the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals better known as the ASPCA in New York City. Thanks to Bergh and other like-minded people there’s more awareness today about animal care, and hopefully that means less animal cruelty and better care.
Only a few decades ago, in the countryside of the Japanese alps, city vacationers would leave unwanted puppies and kittens by the river in carton boxes before they went back home. Don’t worry, though, because the local SPCA run by a child rehomed them all with some lovely church parishioners. I still remember the look on the priest’s face when I’d come cycling up with a box of furbabies at the end of every summer – it still makes me laugh.
April 11th is National Pet Day, a day to lavish the nonhumans at home. Spoil them. They’re here on earth for us to love them. Spoil them every day.