Sympathetic Imaginations

In reading the story of Homer and Ann, I was reminded of my dog Maco (on the left) who died a little over a year ago. To me, Maco was absolutely one of the best dogs. He was the first dog I had and the first one that I have known so well to pass away. Because regrettably I wasn't with him when he died, I often catch myself thinking about what he felt like when it happened. At first those thoughts destroyed me because my guilt was too much, but after a few months I realized that we gave him the best life we could and like Homer, he lived a very eventful life. A quote that struck a chord with me was Homer assessing that his owner didn't "...understand that dogs get old" (p. 807) I can relate to this feeling completely and I'm sure many people can as well. Maco only lived to be 10 years old, which to me isn't long at all, but I'd like to think he felt as though he lived a long life. No matter if I am projecting, I know it has helped me become more compassionate towards all animals and humans.
At times I wonder why people find it so hard to project personalities onto other animals besides their own. I assume it's easier to project onto an animal that lives in your house, but I feel that people would benefit from an exercise similar to that of the one exhibited in Homer and Ann's story. On page 565, Adam Smith suggests "as we have no immediate experience of what other men feel, we can form no idea of the manner in which they are effected, but by conceiving what we ourselves should feel in the like situation." At least for me, by putting yourself in someone else's shoes and pondering what their life must be like it is harder to think of them negatively. Like Homer and Ann's story, Calvin's Story is successful because the narrator is Calvin the dog, we experience what Calvin feels while at the pound. While a human visiting the pound may feel saddened by what they are seeing, Calvin, or any animal waiting to be adopted, has it worse. If given the choice, no animal wants to spend their life in a cage.
Dogs love unconditionally, like Homer the dog said in The Odyssey, "If there is one word a dog has the right to use it is [love]" (p.807). I remember a time when I accidentally slammed the door on Maco's tail and not a minute later, he was giving me kisses to comfort me instead of the other way around. Dogs are loyal and selfless and deserve our love. So many dogs are not given the chance to bond with a family and this needs to change.

"We sympathise with what we see rather than what we hear..." (p.565). I'm sure that many carnists are aware of where their meat comes from and the process in which the animals are slaughtered, but the strongest way to truly comprehend the needless torture animals go through every day is by experiencing it or even just by watching a movie like Earthlings. It's much harder to ignore the suffering when one has bore witness to it. While I am not suggesting that everyone in the world become vegetarian, I do hope that people who choose to eat meat recognize the animal's sacrifice. I know sometimes, I believe ignorance is bliss, but it isn't fair to ignore what is happening each day.
"The sympathy that people might naturally feel towards a being who is suffering, coupled with reasoned moral principles, would probably cause most to object to these institutions. While it is not possible for everyone directly to experience the effect of each and every one of their actions, that is no reason not to try" (p.571).