The sad story about Target, the dog who was mistakenly euthanized in Arizona
after saving soldiers’ lives from a suicide bomber in Afghanistan, probably
brings tears to everyone’s eye who has heard it. Mistakes like these are made
because we take our companion animals’ lives for granted, and we have become
immune to any sadness that comes from killing the surplus.
A surplus caused exclusively by human beings.
The lesson we should take from this tragedy is that every animal turned in to
a shelter is special in some way, despite our society teaching us just the
opposite. These overpopulation surpluses are simply throw-away items. We never
have the opportunity to find out exactly how unique each life is because we are
allowed to kill with such ease. Target was just another example of our learned
insensitivity.
Sincerely,
Roberta S. Wright, Founder
Supporting and Promoting
Ethics for the Animal Kingdom (SPEAK)