Anima

Anima
an·i·ma (ān'ə-mə) n.:
The inner self of an individual; the soul or animating force.

As humans, many of us have been lucky enough to have our lives profoundly touched by a special animal, or perhaps several. It is no wonder to those of us who have had this privilege that our name for their kind is drawn from the Latin word for "soul" or "life force." Rarely, however, do we stop to think about the inner lives of animals, and how our desires and theirs intertwine and often clash. I'm not just talking about the companion animals, the dogs, cats and various other domesticated critters that we have welcomed into our homes and treated like family. I speak also for the livestock raised for our consumption, and the wild creatures whose habitats and lives we encroach upon.

As a Certified Veterinary Technician working both in general veterinary practice and in shelter medicine, I feel that every day I am granted a very unique glimpse into the human-animal relationship. It is a very complicated one, and it is often as brutal as it is beautiful. My goal in writing this blog is to be a voice for animals and to give my readers an insight into our tenuous relationship with them. I also want to call attention to issues that affect the animals we love and let people know how they can help. I want to share both joyful tales and heart-wrenching ones, and provide a little provocative thought and discussion along the way. As Mahatma Gandhi once said, "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way in which its animals are treated." In order for us as a species to become great, we have to take that first step and start a dialogue about the treatment of the precious creatures that we share this planet with.