Do you still have as much compassion for animals as you did as a child? Or the same,possibly even more??

Question

I'm not sure I ever changed in that area growing up!!
Still there's a LOT of love and compassion for all animals as I felt as a child.
It's something that's good, but the flip side of the coin is, a part of it isn't so good. For example if there's ever an accident and you witness an animal getting killed, it can cause you to unravel a bit temporarily :-(
Jeez, how can one toughen up!!?!?
I'd like to try :o)
Helpful hints w/out cruel thoughts pls??
thanks
*+*I need it*+*

IMO this is a spiritual question to do personal beliefs that animals indeed have a soul as well. Every living being has a spirit

Well, WHAT HAPPENED tonite was I was on my way to a meeting. In split seconds a deer was hit and killed instantly, but slid VERY QUICKLY underneath my car and got HUNG UP underneath it. Pulled over, she or he was still under my car, and had to drive forward for them to come off of it.
I hated that.
Have been in tears on and off all night.
Car was towed and waited for awhile at the police station for my ride
Guess the deer's in Heaven,right?
Their soul is being loved now, right?
and no more pain .....

another driver accidently hit/killed the deer. But it slid across the highway under my car

Answer 1

I know there is no way in hell I will be able to keep it together when my 2 dogs die.

I will be devastated.

I have a very DEEP compassion for the Earth and its inhabitants...
The animals are my cousins.
The fields are my Mother's hair...
the wind is my older brother...
the Sky is my father...
and the Moon is my sister.

Answer 2

When I was around 5, my father took me to see 'The Fox and the Hound' but then I cried for about three hours afterward b/c the fact that they were no longer friends upset me. Guess how old I was when I saw Bambi, finally?
It was on TV a few weeks ago, I have a kid and he wanted to watch it out of curiousity and it still made me tear up ! (but for different reasons this time.) So, yes, I am still a cry-baby when it comes to animals-I can't watch the part of nature programs where the animals attack and/or eat another but I know that if II was in a situation where I had to deal with it or see it on a regular basis, I would eventually get used to it. If I was stranded on a desert island, I would become vegetarian b/c I wouldn't be able to do it myself and there would be no examples I'd be forced to watch.
PS: It's not just cartoon animals. I've had one cat die (that I know of) and I kept 'seeing' him for a few years later. Recently, I had a cat go missing (well, a few years ago recently) and I was depressed for months until I started taking care of a new kitten Now, I've got three and have no idea how I'll cope if I have them for 15+ years and then lose one.

Answer 3

I love animals, probably more so, now that I've grown up. And I know exactly what you mean, when I hear about, or see something bad, having to do with an animal, It's really hard for me to get over. I dwell on the matter way too much, it really hurts! In my opinion, if you're a true animal lover, I don't believe you CAN toughen up!! (I believe this is true for myself anyway!)

Answer 4

I've always been an animal lover. And I guess maybe it's grown with age because I've realized more and more than animals are just like people. or people are just like animals. Actually, I believe people ARE animals. I think anyone that doesn't feel compassion for animals is somehow lacking the ability to consider other being's point of view. Just because other animals aren't as smart as humans doesn't mean that they don't have minds and feelings.

Answer 5

I definitely have a lot more compassion as an 'adult' now. As a kid, i saw animals as cute and furry , but i never actually thought of them as more than just 'animals'. But, now, i have a lot of compassion for animals and their welfare, i am much more concerned now about helping animals from cruelty and endangerment.

Yes, it's true that when we witness the death of an animal, it can affect us just as much as if we witnessed a human death, and i guess that can't really be helped since we view animals with as much consideration and love as other humans (well.... i do, at least ^_^"). I guess we just have to deal with it.. just be strong. No need to 'toughen up'. ^_^

Answer 6

My kids all cherished animals with out me instructing them. My daughter even developed a brick residence for one deficient animal that was once death from malnutrition. She fed this very bushy cat everyday external---I had no proposal what was once the problem with the cat, and proposal it had a few terrible ailment----however she fed it everyday and it steadily started watching plenty greater so we stored it. My different 2 kids cherished animals simply as so much. My older son has 2 puppies and a cat now, and my more youthful son has had approximately 10 cats. His spouse loves them too. He even brought a kitten that was once breech start one time.

Answer 7

I'm more compassionate now than I was as a child.
Have you lost a pet? If so I'm sorry. I have lost pets too and the only advice I can give is to remember the good, funny times.
I would like to toughen up too and be able to volunteer at a pet rescue mission but I just couldn't stand it. It hurts my heart.

Answer 8

You can practice learning to discern that spirit lives on beyond the death of the physical body; that they are in God's "hands" - gorey, sad, horrible, awful, deaths of animals are never fun to animal lovers, but we can learn to separate what the life of the animal really is vs. its body, just like people. Hard as it is, they've gone back to the Father. I still love animals just as much now at age 50 as I did as a little girl. :) I hesitate sometimes to let my kids bring any more home, because I still get so attached. If they get sick or die it's me that takes care of them. OUCH.

Answer 9

Even more so for me. It's said you can judge a man's heart by the way he treats animals. I'm an animal lover and proud of it!

Answer 10

I had a lot of compassion for animals when I was a child. I have more even now. When I was young I didn't realize that people mistreated them.