Akhila: I loved writing for your Be The Change series because it helped further my passion and desire to help these animals. Clearly, I’ve had a lot more to say on the subject!

I love your comment because you describe so beautifully exactly what the problem is — there are people who will claim that an animal’s life is less worthy than that of a human’s. But I can’t justify this argument — because a life is a life and nothing breathing, nothing with a beating heart, should ever have to endure cruelty at the hands of another. I think animals are just as deserving of a chance, of a life because they are more than animals, just as we are more than simply humans.

I didn’t mean to go off on a tangent there — see what passion this ignites in us? I love that you have that same passion, Akhila, and, even more so, I love that you have that compassion as well. You’re bringing awareness to so many causes every single day and I admire you for that. So thanks for the comment, but more so, thanks for taking a stand.

I definitely agree with you and think it’s incredibly sad that we don’t often enough consider the dignity of animals when making decisions in our lives, volunteering, or donating. Animal rights are often dismissed as being so “left wing” or not worthy of as much attention as other causes (at least, the way I see it). I think it’s sad the these perceptions certainly must be altered, if positive change is going to occur. We must realize that animals too have strong spirits and dignity that we should recognize and respect!