Posted on 06/30/2012 2:23:02 AM PDT by shibumi
If roadside bombs and other hazards of war don't kill military dogs, senseless government regulations and red tape might. The United States is breeding 100 puppies a year to train for bomb sniffing and other soldierly duties, but many aren't making it back to happy homes because an obscure federal law classifies them as "equipment" rather than personnel -- and makes adopting them a financial and bureaucratic nightmare. A bill to require that the military ship the heroic dogs home and ease potential veterinarian costs for adopting families is currently bogged down in Congress, as dogs continue to be euthanized. In the meantime, at least there is an occasional happy ending.
(Excerpt) Read more at now.msn.com ...
Great post, Salamander. And you are right. When humanity feels comfortable abusing animals and/or treating them as inanimate objects to be tossed aside when no longer convenient, it boggles the mind that anyone would be surprised when they turn and do the same thing to humans.
“They have MUCH to learn. MUCH.”
Don’t hold your breath.
Some of the “regulars” on these threads have not budged an inch since I joined FR.
So, I just ‘shake the dust from my sandals’ and move on.
I’m with you there. Definitely not going to hold my breath that some will ever “get it”. Sad, but true.
This praise, which would be unmeaning Flattery
if inscribed over human Ashes,
is but a just tribute to the Memory of
BOATSWAIN, a DOG,
who was born in Newfoundland May 1803
and died at Newstead Nov. 18, 1808.
And here I sit, in a houseful of misfit and unwanted animals.
I’ve ‘caught’ so many “tossed aside” critters I should play centerfield for the Yankees.
[when I’ve bemoaned that I ‘have no purpose in life’, friends tell me that perhaps, that *is* my purpose...if so, I guess I can’t complain..it’s been a pretty good one]
;]
For some, it’s pride, others, fear.
One doesn’t want to admit that they’re not the only things God loves and the other fears the same.
Neither will ever allow for the possibility that they may be completely wrong.
For a few, it’s the abhorrent thought that ‘dirty animals’ may surround them for eternity.
There are people I don’t like and I’m not over fond of pigeons but if God decides both will be there with me after I die, whom am I to argue with Him?
You are right on that point. I do believe it’s that old imperfect jealousy kicking in. It’s not who we are called to be, and it’s pretty obvious animals have mastered most of those traits light years ahead of humanity: unconditional love, unselfish devotion, loyalty beyond merit, etc...
You are right on that point. I do believe it’s that old imperfect jealousy kicking in. It’s not who we are called to be, and it’s pretty obvious animals have mastered most of those traits light years ahead of humanity: unconditional love, unselfish devotion, loyalty beyond merit, etc...
Animals never “fell from grace”.
It’s our fault that they suffer the curse of the garden.
IMO, they could very well be closer to God than we imagine simply because that barrier of sin is not there, for them.
When I was 14, I watched “The Amazing Dobermans” on late night TV and *begged* God to somehow send me one of those wonderful dogs to protect me and stop my uncle from molesting me since my parents would do nothing, for fear of ‘family politics’.
[I was 10 when he started]
Not even a week later, a stray Dobe wandered into my yard and simply took up residence.
[and it’s not like we had bunches of them around here to be likely running loose]
Nobody ever claimed him.
He just appeared and went with me everywhere, like a hairy, guardian angel.
The uncle stopped.
No one can ever convince me that was not a direct divine intervention.
I have had them ever since and will have them until I die.
They [and one of my Ibizans] have saved me from certain literal death and many dangerous situations more times than I can count.
I owe them my life and can never fully repay them but I keep trying.
There’s a Doberman movie called “Eyes Of An Angel” that you simply must watch.
It always makes me cry.
Well said, those who will not treat an animal with respect and dignity will find reasons to “justify” not treating their fellow man with respect and dignity.
There’s a reason that man feels a compunction to *not* unnecessarily take an animal’s life, in my opinion, or to intervene when an animal is being cruelly treated. Because everyone knows, deep down, that we have a responsibility, as individuals, to do the right thing by animals (including dogs, snakes, and goats. Even if they weave nefarious plots).
God gave us voices to speak up for them and look out for them. It is “liberal” to do so—but in the classic sense of liberality.
Note how he is dismissing the opinions of other posters as trying to “silence” him, instead of considering that he has erred, and responding to them respectfully.
It is a natural consequence of having a low view of animals-—you develop a low view of man, and it reveals itself in time.
Love the pic and I too believe the Lord uses animals to protect people. Too many instances exist to discount that.
Horrible story about your uncle, but what a fabulous animal tale! Will look up the movie you suggested - although if I’ll need Kleenex not sure I’ll get through it.
The animals we know today aren’t the paradisaical beings that occupied Eden, but that seems to be true, that nothing in the Bible suggests that animals can incur blame for sin. An ox that gores is supposed to be destroyed (and if the owner doesn’t and the ox gores again, HE is then to blame), but that’s for safety’s sake. The O.T. scapegoat appears to be symbolic (if it incurred blame, it would logically die on the spot). But “the lion roars and receives its food from God” and we know that the way that happens in the wild isn’t pretty.
That’s ~now~ and will not be such in the new Heaven and the new Earth.
*Everything* will be restored to the Edenic perfection.
God told Noah he would now ‘set the fear of man upon animals’ because of sin.
That will all be corrected.
“Then “God remembered Noah,” and causes his wind to blow, and the fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens are closed. The rain is restrained, the waters abate, and in the seventh month the ark rests on the mountains of Ararat. In the tenth month, the tops of the mountains are seen, and Noah sends out a raven and a dove to see if the waters have subsided; the raven flies “to and fro” but the dove returns with a fresh olive leaf in her beak. Noah waits seven days more and sends out the dove again, and this time it does not return.
When the land is dry, God tells Noah to leave the ark, and Noah offers a sacrifice to God. God resolves never again to curse the Earth, “for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth.”God grants to Noah and his sons the right to kill animals and eat their meat, but forbids meat which has not been drained of its blood. Blood is proclaimed to be sacred, and the unauthorised taking of life is prohibited: “For your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man...Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.” God then establishes his covenant with Noah and his sons and with all living things, and places a rainbow in the clouds, “the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.””
I look forward to it.
Non sequitur much?
It has a happy ending.
You’ll love it.
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