Animals and Me - A Symbiotic Relationship

I was very young when my parents got us a family dog. I don’t remember much about this dog. Maybe it didn’t stay with us long. Certainly in college and then living in New York City, owning a pet was out of the question.

When I moved to the country to take up farming, a dog became a constant in my life. At one time I housed a litter of collies, of which I kept three – Buddy, Suzie, and Champ. When these were gone – Buddy died peacefully one night lying by the front step – I switched to German Shepherds, a superior dog for farm chores. A black shepherd named Hazard was the first of several. Hazard got her name as a small wiggling pup when she climbed out the window of the farm grain truck as I drove down the road. I stopped to rescue her and my husband said we should call her Hazard because she certainly was one. Hazard became the guardian of my young son. He of course ran all over the farm .. even, at about age 3, to the woodlot. But finding him or knowing where he was, was never a problem. If Hazard wasn’t actually with him, she always had him in sight. The devotion of that dog was incredible.

All this while, my farm was becoming home to many animals. I raised hogs, sheep, chickens, and beef cattle. Franchesca – a shepherd mix picked up at the SPCA after Hazard was gone – was the best herd dog I ever had. If the cows got where they didn’t belong, Franchesca would get them heading back in the right direction, and then back off. She died after about 15 years with us, on the hottest day of the summer, and the only day I was away from the farm. I never found her body though I searched the farm everywhere .. sheds, ditches, woods. A couple of months later, I came upon her collar, nothing more. She could have just vaporized. I heard then that shepherds like to die alone.

For farm animals, I always enjoyed keeping hogs. They are such an animated, playful breed. Their antics are quite humorous, and they like human contact. They love to be rubbed, to have their ears scratched. Hogs recognize different people of course. They may jump en masse and ‘woof’ if a stranger surprises them. I never had any trouble working with hogs or cattle. Stay calm and the animals will do the same. Get excited, act like a bully, and you will have a rebellion on your hands.

One day when I was new to the hog raising business, I took a load of hogs to the buying station. They were all penned together on the scale when I walked out to see them, to say goodbye. Instantly there was a great chorus of recognition and greeting as I approached. It was as if they knew everything would be all right as long as I was with them. I stayed a few minutes and then had to turn my back and walk away. It was the hardest thing I have ever done. I am still sad today just remembering this goodbye of 5 decades ago. Those animals trusted me, and I let them down because I couldn’t go with them.

This raises the difficult question: How does a farmer come to terms with raising livestock that will be slaughtered for food? It is a soul searching question.

Philosophically we know that sacrifice happens at every level of life, in all kingdoms, at every moment. Mother earth is making a tremendous sacrifice every instant to sustain human life and the plunder that accompanies our use. Vegetation is sacrificed for our sustenance and for livestock sustenance, but we don’t agonize over that because we don’t assign feeling to plants, though some experiments have indicated otherwise. Wild animals feed upon each other in a never ending and intricate web of sacrifice and dependence. As humans, we often sublimate our personal desires and interests to help others and at the same time, we are supported by an invisible network of the sacrificial energy of parents, friends, and many others unknown to us. Sometimes even lives are sacrificed for us. I think of the thousands [millions] who die in wars. The theologically inclined, or those who have read Rudolf Steiner, will know that the highest hierarchies, i.e. the Seraphim, made sacrifices so that mankind could come into being with certain capabilities.

That Being whom many of us know as the Christ made just such a sacrifice to leave the spiritual world, to come to earth, take on a physical body, and walk the human walk for 3 years to bring us insights into how to live and to change the construct of our life after death. He brought spiritual nourishment. One thing we learn in our earthly life is that sacrifice and service are a big part of this experience .. that if we are not doing something useful for someone or some cause higher than ourselves, there is very little purpose in our lives. Being useful, being needed, doing something good for the earth or for our fellows gives us the greatest satisfaction. We hope that our contribution is recognized and appreciated. But whether it is or not, we keep at it. Sacrifice, or giving, is one of life’s measures.

Livestock in their life path face the same situation. The group soul of each type of animal knows sacrifice is unavoidable. I mentioned that hogs are outgoing extroverts. Sheep are the opposite. Sheep and lambs are so docile, so willing to give up once they are caught, that it is easy to see why sheep and lambs have historically been the sacrificial animal. They almost patiently await that role.

Animals, like us, want to be well treated. Rudolf Steiner tells us that animals need to experience love so that they can move along the path of evolution. They are here to experience love and being cared for, and we can give them that love and good care. But we also need to appreciate the sacrifice they make for us. If we don’t, the sacrifice is still there, but its value is diminished, and we are diminished because we lose the chance to be in thankfulness for their gift.

Sacrifice is compensated by thankfulness. Life is the fulcrum; sacrifice and thankfulness are two ends of the balance beam.

Sacrificing an animal for our physical nourishment is not a sacrilege if it is accompanied by thankfulness. End of life for any living thing is a sad event because we cherish life. We balance this sadness by offering thanksgiving for the life of a person we loved and lost. We can do no less for animals.

2/06