HUMANS and ANIMALS

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Photo Credit: Copyright – Leonard Lee Rue III
from National Audubon Society
Henry Ward Beecher put it this way: “If men wore wings and bore black feathers, few of them would be smart enough to be crows.” (YANKEE Magazine, June 1976, Pgs 90-95) Folks in town have seen a persistent migration of crows moving into town and if we don’t see some intelligence in that move we aren’t paying attention. IN TOWN, the crows can find warmer places to stay and a mother lode of eatables, duh? On the human side, who builds next to rivers and wonders why floods come and wash their homes away?
HUMANS AND ANIMALS
If we need biblical precedent it does not take much research to find the level of authority in regard to “man” and animals: Genesis 1:26, “Let us make man [mankind] in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves, and let them be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all the wild beasts and all the reptiles that crawl upon the earth.” (The Jerusalem Bible) Meat-eaters or vegetarian? You may work this out for yourself. It is recorded (Genesis 3:22) “God made clothes out of skins for the man and his wife and they put them on.” Fig or elephant plant leaves do not for a good garment make — at least that seems to be God’s concept and we can extrapolate about “animals [could be] killed for their skins”– for garments or other uses. With these principles considered, let’s get on with HUMANS & ANIMALS.
This article is not written as an authoritative treatise to prove anything other than ANIMALS and MAN have been “co-workers” for centuries, and hopefully it can be observed that animals have always been man’s helper, if not indeed a servant. How long mankind has looked upon animals as co-workers is something you can research for yourself by looking into falconry (or in German it is regarded as an “austringer flies a hawk”), carrier (messenger) pigeons, working dogs (in detection search work for drugs and victims of natural disasters and aiding or helping handicapped people and of course, hunting and retrieving dogs). Even porpoises leave no doubt that they enjoy being with humans at sea. Shepherds, through the centuries – hundreds, perhaps thousands of sheep roaming the pastures in countries like Scotland or Ireland “know their shepherd”. With a unique call, their sheep could be separated from hundreds of other “look alike” sheep and they would “follow their shepherd”. Dogs are also used to work and direct or sort flocks of sheep.
We wish you enjoyable researching through centuries of examples, but for now here are a few personal stories.
Charles Gustav Reemelin wrote about a horse of his:
 
“He was the best horse I ever owned, and I felt ashamed, as the new owner led him away. Four months afterwards, as I was standing on Race Street, near Washington Park, conversing with a gentleman, I felt a knock on my shoulder, and on turning around, I found that it was my old grey horse, that had recognized me. He whinnied, as I turned round to fondle him. He was in [harnessed to] an express wagon, and hitched to the lamp-post. I begged mentally his pardon for selling him. When he was driven away, I pondered: whether that horse’s affection for me did not prove that, what we call instinct in animals, is something near akin to our idea of the soul?” Cowboys have worked horses in our own young country and centuries ago in foreign countries man worked daily with the horse
 
Paul Ety, Lancaster, Ohio – Life-time career dairy farmer – knew and liked his cows. Of course they had more than “pet” names as his herd was registered stock with sophisticated papers and pedigree names. Paul cared for his animals for obvious reasons but a bond was evident every day. Paul would “hide” goodies in his pockets and as he worked among the cows they would nuzzle up close to him and “find” those treats to be enjoyed. True, cows were his income, but he was kind to his animals and treated them with certain respect.
Harry Williamson, May Hill, Ohio – On occasion, when his aged father was unable to milk the cows, Harry quickly discovered those cows knew he was an intruder. His solution: Choosing some old clothes his dad wore regularly, he put on that old jacket and hat, and adopting a gate of his aged father, he went to the barn and the cows were convinced it was OK to let this man “milk them”.
Bill Venrick, Lancaster, Ohio – A pretty yellow cat comes to our back door in hopes of finding me “ready for another visit”. If “kitty” sees me she begins her rubbing affection by rubbing against our back sliding-door and prepares herself for my loving her up by jumping up on the seat – early on she found she only had to “jump up there” and I would give her a vigorous rub down or scratch her neck, or whatever she indicated needed attention. I have been known to interrupt my breakfast to attend to “my cat” and when I wanted to end the visit I would say something and she would often jump down and take off without a glance backward — “Thanks for the loving, Bill” We never feed “kitty” and apparently all she wants is a “little affection”. Small price for a feline friend.
Bill Volkart, Cincinnati, Ohio – After having a severe stroke leaving him paralyzed on his left side for months, he was sitting on the deck of his house when he saw a flock of ducks coming up the lane, quacking all the way They paraded right up to Bill, letting him know they wanted to become friends. This is the epiphany Bill experienced convincing him they were the reason he was still alive! He now has a sanctuary for ducks and maintains a regular feeding station currently caring for about sixty stray ducks. Read the complete story about Bill’s “stroke rehabilitation” that started in 2005: http://mthollyducksanctuary.com/our_story
YES, HUMANS AND ANIMALS have been “at work” appreciating each other for centuries. THE WORDWRIGHT