Post by g4hardcore on Oct 30, 2014 14:38:21 GMT
Today, I saw a squirrel in a cage on a roof. Living in New York, it gets pretty cold, plus it was wet outside. That's pretty much a perfect equation for death. Squirrels have been quite bothersome for a lot of people in general. They get into the walls and make a noisy ruckus, aggravating thousands or more. It doesn't seem like a huge deal, I know. But then, I saw it breathing, upon closer examination. It even moved it's legs, as if fighting to survive.
It really hurt me, for some reason. I saw this creature trapped in a cage I had never seen in the area before; it was new. That little soul never stood a chance. Watching the squirrels play in that very area everyday, he could never have known what the cage held in store for him. I came back very quickly, and pulled up a bench. I turned it on it's side for stood on it, then opened the trap. I hoped he'd utilize the chance to escape. But he wasn't moving anymore. I saw the rise and fall of his chest, unnaturally slow. Up close, I could see blood on his mouth, I don't know how it was injured but it was.
Another smaller squirrel approached the cage whose opening I had ripped off. It came closer and closer, starting between me and it's dead fellow creature. It crawled around the cage, studying it. It even climbed in top of it before starting between I and it one last time and departed as quickly as it had come. I could only imagine what it was thinking. Perhaps it was learning. I hope it had the sense to see cages were traps. I hope it didn't just blindly blame me, the human, for the death of what could have been a friend or relative even. If they can communicate, hopefully he warns the others. Heh, you can only hope.
Then I started thinking. If people don't want animals in their walls, why make them hollow? It's the perfect place for a squirrel and it's family to keep warm as temperatures drop. Why not build artificial habitats in the trees? Why not insulate the walls? I almost felt like we were giving ourselves reasons to kill another animal. But the plot isn't quite so sinister. We are all learning. Learning better ways to live in harmony with everything around us. I suppose there is no progress without struggle. So why then, does my heart still hurt?
If you actually read all this, thank you. Hopefully you've found a point somewhere in all this in some way. I'm going to try to keep the misfortune of others from letting me focus on the points of life as they pass me by.
It really hurt me, for some reason. I saw this creature trapped in a cage I had never seen in the area before; it was new. That little soul never stood a chance. Watching the squirrels play in that very area everyday, he could never have known what the cage held in store for him. I came back very quickly, and pulled up a bench. I turned it on it's side for stood on it, then opened the trap. I hoped he'd utilize the chance to escape. But he wasn't moving anymore. I saw the rise and fall of his chest, unnaturally slow. Up close, I could see blood on his mouth, I don't know how it was injured but it was.
Another smaller squirrel approached the cage whose opening I had ripped off. It came closer and closer, starting between me and it's dead fellow creature. It crawled around the cage, studying it. It even climbed in top of it before starting between I and it one last time and departed as quickly as it had come. I could only imagine what it was thinking. Perhaps it was learning. I hope it had the sense to see cages were traps. I hope it didn't just blindly blame me, the human, for the death of what could have been a friend or relative even. If they can communicate, hopefully he warns the others. Heh, you can only hope.
Then I started thinking. If people don't want animals in their walls, why make them hollow? It's the perfect place for a squirrel and it's family to keep warm as temperatures drop. Why not build artificial habitats in the trees? Why not insulate the walls? I almost felt like we were giving ourselves reasons to kill another animal. But the plot isn't quite so sinister. We are all learning. Learning better ways to live in harmony with everything around us. I suppose there is no progress without struggle. So why then, does my heart still hurt?
If you actually read all this, thank you. Hopefully you've found a point somewhere in all this in some way. I'm going to try to keep the misfortune of others from letting me focus on the points of life as they pass me by.
It's even worse, when it's a pet. 
