Back in June I wrote an article entitled ‘Eating our Pets‘ which was designed for shock value but obviously was about my daughters pet apricot. A friend of mine started a conversation which lead to me stating that if she’d write the article I’d be more than happy to let her do a guest post on my blog. Well here it is! She sent this my way back in August, it’s my fault that it’s delayed. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did:
Since Samuel told me I could make a guest post my mind has been in overdrive. Do I write about being a vegetarian as many people question my decision or do I write about the No Kill movement sweeping the Nation? Then I realized I don’t have to choose, to me they are one in the same. So let me explain.
As you may know a vegetarian doesn’t believe in eating meat. This has been a new adventure for me because for 27 years I was a meat and potatoes girl, and don’t get me wrong I have some hard times, but I slowly became aware that I was a huge hypocrite and decided I had to do something about it. I could no longer think that saving dogs and cats was any different than saving the cow, pig or chicken that may make its way to my plate. Who am I to decide one animals life is more valuable than another. I have stopped eating meat, or wearing/using animal products, I have decided that no animal domestic, farm, or wild are here for me.
Now that I am saving farm animals from being killed to feed me, I can place my energy in good conscience to saving the lives of other sentient beings. Dogs and cats are dying in American shelters at an alarming rate. There is 4-6million companion animals killed every year. I will concede that when farm animals die they do so for a cause, food, when shelter animals die no one benefits. They are tossed into a dumpster to be carted off.
There are shelters even here in East Tennessee that kills 63-73% of the animals that are in their care. That is more than half the animals they encounter, never again see the light of day. Tax payer dollars aren’t actually going to “shelter” animals as the name suggest. There is no safety net to protect animals when someone is no longer able to care for them. There is only the building designed to adopt out a few and kill the rest, because for so many years shelter workers have been told there aren’t enough homes for them all. However Nathan Winograd the father of the No Kill movement has done his research and found this paradigm is false. There are 17million people looking to add a new furry member to their family annually, with 4-6million animals losing their lives in shelters there is definitely enough room for them all.
The great news! Not only are people going vegan, or vegetarian at an amazing rate, people are becoming more aware of the plight of the companion animals. There is a solution that can be implemented to save the lives of dogs and cats all over the nation! It is 11 simple steps that have been implemented in places like Reno NV, Austin TX, and Rockwall TX it’s called the No Kill Equation and it can save lives!
That is why in a very lengthy nutshell I think vegetarianism, and No Kill are one in the same. No Kill to me, means do not Kill it makes no difference the kind of animal it is. As an advocate for animals I am their voice because they don’t have one, whether it is a cow raised for beef or a dog killed by a shelter for no other reason than being born. To me all life is precious..
~Callie
Calvina Overton works in the Veterinarian field and is a cruelty investigator for the Humane Society. Saving animals since 2002, Calvina began serving as a foster parent to animals from the Blount County Humane Society where over 600 animals have been saved! Click on these links for more information regarding the No Kill Movement or the Blount County Human Society.
While I agree with the sentiment of the post, not killing for any reason but to eat, there are more pressing HUMAN matters at hand. Before ill put my money towards saving animals, I need to see the helpless and homeless human problem resolved.
I understand the plight of helpless animals and the cruelty they face, I shouldn’t have to tell you, but cruelty against the homeless is nothing new. So many souls who have made bad decisions and ended up somewhere they could never have imagined, and here we are with shelters and a government that assists with staying homeless rather than rehabilitation to give the homeless a life.
A very noble cause, but in comparison with current human conditions, it seems insignificant.