“I hate people. Animals I love. People are mean and cruel. I wish I could spend all my time with animals and never see another person again.” “You are so blessed to be able to do what you do. It must be so hard working with all the people. People do terrible things to animals. Animals are much more kind” “(put in many animal professionals name) is great with the animals, but his/her people skills is non-existent. If you remember that you will get good care. They can be a little brash.” I hear these statements multiple times a week and I would be a liar if I too didn’t sometimes say to myself, “I hate people.” After leaving an severely abuse animal, hearing a terrible story, or departing a client who just doesn’t get it.” But it is not really an honest feeling of mine. I love people and what they do for their animals. I love the people who come home from a hard days work to grab a treat bag and leash and head out for a walk or training session with their dog or the people who have no money at all and will not think twice about spending thousands of dollars on medical care. I know people who dedicate their lives to dogs, cats, birds, chickens, goats, pigs, farm animals, exotics, horses…These people go to extraordinary measures to rescue, educated and care for these animals.
I have thought long hard about why there is so much hatred and bitterness of people by animal people. It is not just that there is ignorance and abuse. It is that people with compassion and empathy cannot escape from seeing or hearing about it. There is no real break. It is everywhere. It is driving down the 33 and always seeing the same dog chained on concrete with no water or bedding. It is the cat that has been coming around since the neighbor moved and the boney horses in the tiny corals. I have to admit that there are many nights I would rather eat oatmeal for dinner than risk bumping into someone with a story at the grocery store. On a good week only one of my animals friends passes to heaven or enters the hospital with sever pain or bites someone.
My teacher, Carol Gurney, teaches that when talking to an animal in bad situations do not feel sorry for them. It does not help them. It is important to teach them to find peace in their situations. Buddhist Nuns tell me, “Do not worry, the animals too have their Karma.” and my other teacher Linda Tellington-Jones drilled into me to “meet every person where they are at.” If I live by these guidelines, everything is much simpler. It takes away the judgment and focuses on teaching animals and humans to find more peace and move into a direction of better awareness. If I honestly do my best I must relinquish control and attachment over the outcome. It is terribly hard to leave clients as I walk out their door. When I get upset about people I remember: Karen who goes shelters to find search dogs and is ALWAYS up for helping me with any animal issue. I remember Kristen and Joan who fill their homes with unwanted cats; Melissa who rescues chickens and roosters and gives them homes that couldn’t even be dreamed of, Bob & Kim who will drop everything to help a chipmunk or bird of prey, Marty who spends her days fighting for the welfare of hundreds of pigs, Kathy who helps Mustangs acclimate into captivity, Nuetzie who finds adoptable animals at kill shelters and gets them into non-kill shelters, Jean who makes sure the bunnies are safe and adoptable and James who has a warehouse full of parrots. The list of people is endless. Each of these people not only rescues but educates. When I focus on them and their work and the clients I know who go to extraordinary measures to care for and to understand their pets. I can’t help but love people and all that they fight for.