.... by Dee Walmsley
"It's not a dog at all, it's a 3 week old raccoon kit".
"Oh my!" she exclaimed jumping back two feet.
"They kill cats, and dogs, and dig up your garden, and wreck you roof and,
why would you want to have one of those horrible animals?"
"What the hell are you talking about? This kit doesn't even have its eyes
open so I hardly think that it's going to kill your dear dog! Where did you
get your dumb ideas from anyway?"
"Well, she said. Everyone knows they are pest animals, just look in the
yellow pages for God's sake! My neighbor has those beasts in her yard and
she is afraid to let her kids outside. There ought to be a law against them
living in the city."
"Okay, we'll make a law, yeah let's have a referendum and make all the urban
wildlife move to the country, then we can make another one to make all the
people move to the city. Then we can put up a big brick wall around the city
so the only thing that is going to attack you is another human being. Would
that satisfy you?"
"You're nuts, who would vote on something like that? Really, you do-gooders
get on my nerves. I suppose you hug trees on week-ends too eh?"
"No, I don't have time to hug my old man, let alone trees because of
ignorant people like you who think that it is your God given right to rule
the world. Who says we own it all? Did you ever stop to think that maybe we
won't be the last species to leave this earth?
"I don't understand you when you get like this, all uppity and hot under the
collar just because I don't like raccoons."
"Do you have any idea how ignorant you are?" It's not just the raccoons, it's all the animals that I see at the rehab center that have been tortured, orphaned, and abused and mostly by people like you who think that because it wears fur, it will eat you.
You never take the time to learn anything about the creature. You believe old wives tales and rumor. Have you ever stopped to think that you invaded the animals space by building your 4000 square foot house?
Why I bet you don't even know what happened to the trees they removed from your lot."
"See I knew you were a tree hugger, you can't fool me. You think I'm stupid
but I know things too ya know".
"I hug the universe. When was the last time you hugged anything? Those trees
housed birds and critters and they are the earths lungs, without them you
don't breathe".
"What now you're telling me my lungs are in the trees? You need help friend,
and the sooner the better".
"Well if help means visiting your shrink then count me out, speaking of
which, isn't it time for your next appointment"?
May 04, 2000