"When Elephants Weep"

The above is the title of a book I'm reading now which was written by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson. This same author also wrote "The Nine Emotional Lives of Cats" and "Dogs Never Lie About Love." I highly recommend all of these books, to all of you who love animals. Not only love animals, but respect them. If you believe that a dog is just a dog, and a cat is simply a cat, then don't bother.

This book is just amazing, and will give you such a broader perspective on many animals you previously believed to be just "wild."

I need to quote two sections that made me re-read the words three times. Very powerful, very profound. The author offers these words, taken from James Froude's studies in 1886:
"Wild animals never kill for sport. Man is the only one for whom the torture and death of his fellow creatures is amusing in itself."

And, from the 19th century French naturalist Buffon, this passage: "Humans lead lives of quiet desperation, and most men die of sorrow. In contrast, animals do not search for pleasures where none can be found; guided by their feelings alone, they never make a mistake in their choice; their desires are always proportional to their capacity to enjoy; they feel as much as they enjoy and enjoy only as much as they feel. Man, on the other hand, wanting to invent pleasures, does nothing but spoil nature; wanting to force feelings, he only abuses his being, and digs a hole in his heart which nothing is capable of later filling."

Webster needs to re-define the word "animal." Put a picture of a human being there, instead of a lion or tiger. In my humble opinion.

And..... thank you to the reader who left a comment saying that Los Angeles passed a law which charges a high fee for those people who choose not to neuter/spay their dogs and cats. The same should be done in cities and towns from coast to coast.