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KMsAngel -> RE: Paralyzed hedgehog gets a wheechair (6/29/2013 1:08:31 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: dcnovice
quote:
my brother makes it a point of going to all the local special olympics and parades and school activities and scouts organisations to help kids realise that if a dog who can't walk can now run around like a maniac, that they can make an effort to make something of themselves too.
Thanks for sharing this! To be honest, I've been puzzling over what I think of this, and you raised an important point I hadn't considered.
my brother fights strenuously to not put down any animals unless there's severe health reasons. considering how severe his pup was initially.... he's recently adopted another pup that has a neuron disease that makes him shake uncontrollably when he moves or gets excited. sweetest thing, just has a little problem, and they're all learning to work around it.
not only do the kids who interact with the dogs see an animal that is much loved (and far more popular even than my brother, who's pretty popular), despite his handicap, they learn about selflessness too. his county is pretty poor, and yet when he visits the scouts, 4H and so on, they come to love the dog, and spend a lot of time raising money to buy pet food, pet toys, blankets, really whatever is needed for the shelter. acceptance and kindness are two extra-ordinarily important things to learn, but when you can get 'hands on' with the dog and go buy the gifts and see what joy it actually brings to both the animals and thr grown up staff, for kids - who are still growing mentally and emotionally - that's powerful stuff and will hopefully become embedded in their personalities. not just for dogs, but for their fellow humans.
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