Windy Sydney

I just flipped on my television and caught the beginning of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on ABC. I have reviewed this show before on my blog, but this story hit me huge because of my love for animals... especially cats, since I now own three.

Two of my cats were rescued from situations that I don't even like to think about. Since living with us, they have felt comfortable in showing their personalities without being put to extreme punishment of some kind. Hell, Abbey Road was found nearly beaten to death when she was a tiny kitten! Who could do something like that? Someone without a soul, thats who.

Anyway, the family chosen for this weeks makeover run a non-profit rescue for all kinds of animals that SHOULD be found in the wild, but people tried to turn them into pets. Sometimes people bought the pet before realizing it was illegal, sometimes the animal was working and when the work stopped the owners didn't want to feed it anymore. Most of the animals they took in are large cats like tigers and panthers.

Some of these cats have been through unspeakable things that I personally consider torture. There was a close-up of one cat with its nails declawed (it's bad enough doing that to a household cat, what are people thinking doing that to a large cat? How could it protect itself and hunt food if it had to?) and a story of another cat who had the paws of his feet cut in strange places that required surgery to fix.

Imagine getting a phone call from someone who doesn't have the resources to take care of an animal anymore. They don't have the money for the vet, the money for the food, the time, or the space the animal needs. If you couldn't find the space for the animal, they would have to put it down. An otherwise healthy creature wasted because of unfortunate circumstances. It's not their fault, they deserve to live. If you can't do it, the animal dies.

The family that needed this home makeover deserved it. There is no question. They would spend money on the animals before putting the money into fixing their home. The vet that works closely with the family says that there are so many lives this family has saved. To know that the cats and other animals will be safe and enjoy life is a gift... one of the greatest gifts.

Jeff Corwin (most people know him from Animal Planet) volunteered to take care of the animals with the help of an extremely large crew while the family was away on vacation. Not only will this family get a new home, the animals will receive space and authentic living conditions, they will probably live in luxury.

They deserve to live in luxury after what they have been through.

I can't bring myself to understand how animals are treated in all corners of the world. I am not saying that everyone should stop eating meat (although that would be kind of nice) or that everyone should be forced to take in animals as members of their families... I just think animals deserve a lot more respect than they get in our society. Their lives don't matter to a lot of people, and it's a shame.

When I lived in Orlando there was a story on the local news about a group of horses that were abandoned by their owners when they moved. They were fenced, and once they ran out of food and water they became emaciated. Thanks to a concerned passerby they were saved. Who could leave an animal to die?

Every single animal I have known in my life has enriched my life.

How could someone purposefully harm a living creature in this way? How could they? WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE???

Andee