Harley the Hearing Ear Dog

My real job...the one that pays the bills...is being a school psychologist.  One of my joys is to see Harley when he attends school with Nancy, our teacher of the Hearing Impaired.  She knows how much I love animals, so she usually gives Harley permission to say hi to me.  Today, Nancy was speaking with Carolyn, a grandmotherly woman, who works as an Instructional Assistant.  Carolyn told Nancy about how good the vegan cake that we ate yesterday was...that's another wonderful story :-)  Well, that comment lead to a discussion about Veganism and why I don't eat anything with a parent or a face or anything that comes from a being that has a parent or a face.  Carolyn made sure that Nancy understood that I don't even wear leather or wool.

When Nancy asked me about why I'm a Vegan, I told her that I don't see myself as being any better than the animals that share the planet with us.  I also told her that I believe that every sentient being contains Divinity within...that to intentionally hurt or be the cause of suffering for another being...would be like hurting myself or hurting my idea of God.  Meanwhile, Harley was laying underneath a desk...just absorbing our conversation.  We continued our discussion and I told them about Covance, a medical testing company, that unfortunately is moving into Arizona.  I told them how painful it is for the animals that they use for testing and how miserable their lives are.  Nancy said that she hadn't thought about any of these things before, but that she was grateful that I had shared my views...that they had made her see things differently.  She then gave Harley permission to say hi to me and he came running across the room and gave me a big kiss :-)  He usually just comes over so I can pet him, but this time he gave me endless kisses.

Nancy said that Harley was thanking me for speaking for him and other animals that can't speak for themselves.

May all beings be peaceful and free,

Donna