It’s a new year, and in setting my new goals I plan to write
at least two blogs per month, if not more when time allows. I even have a list
of topics to write about, but holidays make life so busy sometimes! I was
fortunate to have received a few books related to animals for Christmas that I
had asked for, and I began reading one recently. A testament to my eagerness to
always learn and to being one of those people who enjoys school, I have been
putting my typical penciled stars next to sentences that make me think or that strike
an “aha!” moment for me. I’d like to share one today and will pick a few more from the books
as I go along to share with you.
The book is called Why
the Wild Things Are: Animals in the Lives of Children by Gail Melson
(2001). Just the introduction is fascinating, chronicling the author’s
curiosity to begin researching the roles of animals in children’s lives as a
researcher—and this is coming at a time when few people realized the
significance of this research and with little to start from. She discusses
the many facets of animals as we grow up, but she also brings in the history of animal
domestication and pets’ roles throughout history.
One of my stars is by a paragraph that I can easily connect
with (and I’m sure many others can, too) and is one of the reasons why I think I have
leaned toward the field of animal welfare. “In open-ended, in-depth interviews,
many pet-owning children spoke with deep feeling about what their pets mean in
their lives… The ties that children forge with their pets are often among the
most significant bonds of childhood, as deeply affecting as those with parents,
siblings, and friends“ (p. 16-17). She mentions how pets are playmates, keepers
of secrets, reassuring in times of stress, and after-school company, among
others. I have always felt that my pets played an important role in my growing
up and my desire to incorporate them into my career.
