| I come from a family of animal-lovers. Well, I've never owned a horse, even though we live in Kentucky. But I have had the pleasure of being in the company of many dogs, cats, fish, mice, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, dutch rabbits, albino rats, pigeons, canaries, parakeets, finches, cockateils, frogs, snails, salamanders, turtles, iguanas, and snakes. And a sparrow hawk. |
| My mother was a biology teacher. She kind of brought her work home, in a sense. (I have also held creatures like fruit bats and tarantulas.) |
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| When I was growing up, I had a love-hate kind of thing for stories about beautiful wild animals befriended by human beings. Oh, you know the stories I mean. You've read them, seen them on TV, gone to the movies. Human being loves the animal, but the animal's free spirit longs to return to the wild, the world where it was intended to be. Man's love is not enough. |
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| One movie that comes to mind is "Sammy, the Way-Out Seal," a childhood favorite with a title that shows I grew up in the 60s. This Disney film featured such folks as Robert Culp, Patricia Barry, Billy Mumy, Ann Jillian, Michael McGreevey, Jack Carson, and Elizabeth Fraser. We follow a family with two boys on summer vacation, where the younger boy can't bear to part with his new friend, Sammy. Sammy's so cute! (And so are the kids!) But he fits into our world like a square peg in a round hole. We laugh when everything goes awry, sniffle when Sammy is returned to the ocean, but smile in the end, because Sammy meets a girlfriend when he returns. Life is good. |
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| Okay, no lectures! Well, maybe just a reminder or two. It's not US against THEM, in this world. The animals have a right to be on this planet, too. And even if they look cuddly and cute, sometimes they don't feel at home in our homes. While some animals make outstanding pets, others should just be out standing. Or swimming, or flying. It's where they belong! |
| To see some wild pictures of domesticated animals, click on Rover. |
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| For stores with cool animal gear, check out these links (no, not lynx!) Lorilei's Animal House Store * |