Tag Archives: animal cruelty

Be Open to Other Views

At times, I find myself reevaluating my approach/beliefs about animals/advocacy after conversations where people are questioning or challenging me. My first reaction when I feel I am being challenged or criticized regarding my love for animals and advocacy for them is to get mad and defensive and tell them that they are wrong. I’m sure that’s a common reaction to anyone who feels challenged about something they feel strongly about. It does get your goat🐐 and it’s hard to forget the conversation. But then I remind myself that sharing thoughts and beliefs (and facts) is how we learn from one another. The other person may even teach you something. 😁

 

I haven’t changed my mind about advocating but I did stop and think about a few things I could do differently.

So, my friends please remember to always be open to listen another’s point of view, to be respectful, and be kind. Noone wants to listen to a

 

“LET’S DISCUSS” SERIES #1: PART 2

Thank you to all who took the time to fill out the questionnaire on my first post in this series. I want to take a few minutes to explain a little more why I am doing this. I am not doing this for me. I am not doing this to get more likes or followers. I am not doing this to add more content to my blog. I am doing this for animals. How do I mean? Well here is an example. I made a comment on a social media post about the treatment of farm animals and that I do not believe God would approve. Someone respectfully (which is very appreciated) asked me in reply “what about the sacrifices of animals in the bible?” I was thrilled to have someone ask me this (again…respectfully asked). Dialogue is what I want. Dialogue is how we all learn from each other. THAT is why I am doing this series! 😊

So let’s get on to Part 2 of “Feelings & Emotions.”

Here is the link to the second questionnaire: Let’s Discuss Series: “Feelings & Emotions” Part 2. It will take less than a minute to fill out but will make a huge impact! Thank you in advance!

What Did I Do?

WHAT DID I DO?

I had a mom and siblings
but a human took me away,
I want to make you happy
I’m really trying to obey

I had to go potty
but didn’t know where,
then your voice got so loud
it gave me such a scare

I tried to understand
your human word “sit.”
What did I do
to deserve to be hit?

I want to play with that dog
I don’t want to fight.
What did I do
to deserve that bite?

What did I do
to deserve that kick?
When all I wanted to do
was give you a lick

I was lost and trying
to find my way.
I thought you would help
instead here I now lay

I’m seeing others like me
at the golden gate.
They gave me a big welcome
and said now you’re free from the hate.

copyright LeeAnn Johnston/animalsarefeelingbeingstoo

I came to write this poem as a way for me to get out some of the frustration I am having lately. There are way too many abuse cases out there to these innocent beings. I kept the poem on the lighter side to convey some of the pain animals are in because of US humans. But the truth is it is so much worse than this poem. I am going to spare you the awful things I have heard about lately that people are doing or have done to animals. But I really want you to not have your head in the sand and be well aware that these things go on and they will not change without us. If you don’t know what to do I can give you one thing. Teach any child in your life to be kind to all animals. It starts there. They are our and the animal’s future.

The Way the World Views Them is Why They’re Treated as They Are

I‘ve been wrestling with the best way to apply my advocacy for animals the last few years. I still don’t have it figured out but the same thoughts keep coming to mind. How can I change the way the world views animals? The way the world views them is why they are treated as they are.

I just watched a video of a man putting tape around a dog’s front and back legs and his mouth. Flopping him around like he was nothing. The whole time this dog was moving around his big dark brown eyes with such fear. This man proceeded to move the dog around like a piece of luggage without any concern for this living being. He proceeded to fling him on the back of his motor bike and sped off. While driving the dog falls of the motorbike onto the road. The guy picks him up like a piece of garbage and flops him back on the bike, this time without even fastening him down. He takes off with one hand on the dog trying to hold him on. You see he was on his way to a “client” to sell this dog for meat. The reality is much worse treatment happens to cows, chickens, pigs, and other animals every day. All for humans, for “normal” society, for food on the table. And while this is happening the animal, the living being, is experiencing extreme fear, panic, and pain.

I am sad (and truth be told angry) that I live in a world where other living beings are seen as less and as something we can do whatever we want with. As long as no one talks about it, as long as we keep hiding our heads in the sand, as long as we cover our eyes & ears and chant “la la la la la” we’ll just keep on trucking.

Not me, not us who can’t keep on trucking. Who in good conscious can’t turn their back on these animals. I don’t know what the answer is and I am unsure of my next chapter of animal advocacy. I’ll just keep praying for clarity on this.

Some people worry about how this affects my own well-being, but the truth is I would be worse off if I didn’t do anything. I couldn’t live with myself. Much of my therapy is in writing posts such as this. It’s a way to let some of the anger, frustration, and sadness out.

I would like to end by letting you know the dog I spoke of in this post was saved by a kind man who saw what the guy was doing to him. The kind man followed him, chased him, stopped him over & over trying to talk the guy into giving up the dog. He finally did! The kind man immediately took all the tape off of the dog and gave him lots of well-deserved pets, hugs, and kisses.

*TREAT OTHERS AS YOU WANT TO BE TREATED, EVEN IF THEY’RE A DIFFERENT SPECIES.*

Coming Soon

Hello all. I hope you and your furry ones are doing well!

I am excited to share that this summer I will have some new graphics that will be available on a variety of products for sale. Any money earned will not be for me. I am doing this to raise money for animals in need. Please stay tuned, keep checking back, and please consider purchasing something for yourself or an animal lover in your life.

I Will Never See it as “Normal”

As I’ve mentioned before, I now only write posts when I actually have something to say. In the past I was forcing the posts just to be sure to have something out there on a regular basis because that’s what I thought I had to do. But when I was doing that blogging was no longer fun, it was work. Something I’ve been thinking a lot about and wrestling with for so long is what society sees as “normal” treatment of animals. This is also a part of why I stopped writing posts. Sometimes there are so many thoughts swirling around, so many questions, so much hurt that it becomes hard to put it in words. But I am once again attempting to put them in words.

I understand going along with what seems “normal” I also have done this. It is only when I took the time to read, research, look in an animals’ eyes, and empathize (put myself in their shoes) that I was able to allow myself to see the truth.

I made the following graphic with these thoughts I’ve been having in mind.

Continue reading

Something To Think About

Hello everyone!

There is something I have been thinking about and wanted to share with you and see what you think. It’s when I hear people say “they were treated no better than an animal” when describing something bad they went through at the hands of another. There is something wrong with that and I’m not talking about what the person went through because, of course, that is terrible. But that it is compared to how an animal is treated. This, to me, is admission that animals are treated poorly, is it not?

It’s something to think about.

 

Sunday Pawzing: Thoughts From The Week (9/12/21)

Happy Sunday!

I am trying some new things. Today I wrote a post in a newsletter/document sort of way. Just click the image to open it up. 🙂

Sunday Pawzing to Encourage All to Keep it Cruelty-Free

Hello all. Happy Sunday!

I want to start featuring some of my favorite products. What does this have to do with animals? EVERYTHING!

The products I want to share are cruelty-free. There is no need to put animals through the torture they endure for us to use household items. If you’re a believer in God and that he created all, we must ask ourselves what would he think of this practice? If you’re not a believer in God, then consider the torture animals are put through. They live in a lab in a metal cage, experimented on, harmed and then treated, and so much worse. This happens to dogs, cats, and rabbits which most of us have in our family. Take a moment to look at your furry family member. It’s their fellow beings this is happening to. There are better ways: https://www.pcrm.org/ethical-science/animal-testing-and-alternatives.

I am featuring SEVENTH GENERATION in this post. These are one of my favorite product lines (https://www.leapingbunny.org/brand/seventh-generation). I currently use the hand soap, laundry detergent, and dish soap. I like the scent free dish soap because I use it to wash Cino’s food and water dishes every day.


Do you have a favorite cruelty-free product? Please share.

Look for the Leaping Bunny Logo