From The Desk of Dr. Fox: Foie gras

There are things you see online and on Facebook and other social media about pets every day that make you laugh and smile. And then there are those other stories. The ones that challenge you to think, question a belief or just simply watch and see something that is profoundly disturbing. Or downright sickening.

Humans use animals in a lot of different ways - some productive and sustainable like dairy cows or plow horses, some for recreation like horseback riding, some for companionship like dogs and cats and of course some for food, fabric and other products that require the sacrifice of an animal's life.  Some people choose to be vegetarians because of this, or only eat fish or certain types of meat.  I always am cognizant when I eat meat that an animal somewhere gave the ultimate sacrifice for that meal.  

There are some things that humans have done with, or more accurately to, animals that are abhorrent; probably too many to list truth be told, and sometimes it helps to just focus on one in order not to be overwhelmed by a tidal wave of information.  Maybe not a lot of people reading this enjoy or have ever eaten Foie gras which is defined on Wikipedia as;

A luxury food product made of the liver of a duck or goose that has been specially fattened. By French law, foie gras is defined as the liver of a duck or goose fattened by force-feeding corn with a feeding tube, a process also known as gavage.

That doesn't sound awful but when you do something to an animal that causes it's liver to increase to 10 times the normal size it's not pretty.  The video circulating is disturbing to say the least.  It's hard to watch, harder to imagine who could do that job and the hardest question of all is - Is any food possibly worth this amount of pain and suffering to an animal? For a so-called delicacy, not something essential to our daily lives?

Mahatma Gandhi said “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” Judging by the fact that these types of practices continue we have quite a ways to go.

The video in reference to this write up can be found here. Viewer discretion advised: related content may be disturbing to some individuals.

Bella's Byline

     My fourth nap of the day was interrupted by a horrible dream.  I had wings and two webbed feet and I was stuck on an exercise wheel in the middle of the surgery room floor.  I opened my mouth to meow for help but nothing came out.  I had no interest in grooming myself and my food bowl was full of grass, weeds and grains.  I got out of my bed and stretched, doing my best to shake off the dream.  It was no wonder after the goings on at the clinic this week.

     It started on Tuesday with a sick ferret.  Poor thing came in all long and lethargic, not interested in socializing at all.  He stayed with us for several hours as the doctor worked with him.  Once his meds kicked in he started getting pretty lively.

     "Hey there," I stared at him, standing just outside his carrier.  Whack, whack, whack!  He smacked the door repeatedly.  "Whoa," I stared at him, taken aback.  "How are you feel...."  Smackity, whack, whack, whack!  He pummeled the carrier door and proceeded to throw a fit, his back feet running in place while he threw little ferret fists in my direction.  "Well, excuse me," I breathed.  "I was simply trying to...."  But I left the though unfinished.  Muhammed Ferret-Li was throwing his whole body into it now, against the carrier door, scratching, punching and wriggling.

     "Don't bother him Bella," the doctor with glasses said to me.  I crouched, ready to sprint away from him if he tried to examine me.  He continued walking up to the front of the clinic.  I scowled after him.  Why does everyone assume I'm bothering others?  Cats are curious by nature and I'm a prime example of my kind.

     On Wednesday the duckling came in. A small, fuzzy, baby creature this little guy really needed us.  It turned out he had a broken leg.  The doctor handled him very carefully after his X-Ray and put a splint on his tiny leg.  As he lay on a cushy bed in his box, I made my way over.  Amanda lifted his box up and put him on top of the X-Ray table just as I was getting ready to get a good look.

     "Don't bother him Bella," she warned me.  What in the heck?  I whipped my head around and started licking my back, pretending I didn't hear her.

     "I know you hear me Missy," she said.  "Leave the little duck alone."  I stayed where I was as the girls came over one by one.  They oohed and aahed and told duckling how cute he was and how sweet he was and how precious he was.  When the doctor cam back to look at his leg again, he lifted him out of his box onto the surgical table and I finally got a good look.  He had weird feet and a rounded belly, a tiny fuzzy head and little brown eyes.  Again a chorus of affectionate phrases came from all of the girls.  When the tiny duckling began to chirp and flutter it sounded very tender and sweet.  I decided to sing along with him and let out my own chorus of meows.

     "What Bella?" Deanna asked me.  "You let him alone."  That did it.  I stalked off whipping my tail back and forth as hard as I could.  I needed to be around one of my kind.  Where were all the cats this week anyway?  I sat in the lobby when the duckling was discharged.  Everyone came up to say goodbye and learned that the duckling had been rescued from an organization that took in abandoned backyard fowl.  He now belonged to a little boy who loved him and he slept with that boy in his bed every night.  I stared at the man as he carried the duckling out the door.  He would take him home to his little boy and for that I was happy. 

     Friday started out well enough.  Courtney gave me some extra Greenies after breakfast and Jo Anne let me sit on her charts while she talked on the phone.  The doctor didn't try to examine me and I watched three lizards through the window before my first nap.  Then a woman ran in with a box.  I pushed down my jealous feelings in case it was another cute little duckling, but it wasn't.  The woman revealed that a possum had been hit and killed on the side of the road and in the box were her three babies.

     While the calls were being made to a wildlife organization that would take over their care, I approached the possum box with my routine welcome stare in mind.  I was met with hissing and the baring of tiny teeth.

     "Leave those cuties alone Bella," I was told.  What was so cute about them?  Nothing, that's what.  Hissing and behaving the way they were.  I wouldn't be told to go away again.  I stood my ground but I began to feel sleepy.  I went to my "house" and climbed into bed where I was met with my nightmare.

     I decided to wait for clients who wanted to pet me in the lobby.  That would cheer me up.  Or maybe I would see some cats who were coming in for their annual check-ups.  I ran up front and sat by the scale.  Things were going to perk up and I would make fast friends with the next cat I saw. I cleaned my paws and offered my most alert stare as I sat.  And then the door opened and a man walkedin with a bearded dragon on his shoulder.

Bella's Byline

     I wake as the lights are coming on and leave my bed quickly.  I know where I must go.  In the front lobby I hop onto the chair in front of the window to wait.  The girls are unlocking the cabinets and moving around the front desk.  They review the day's appointments.  Now they know too.

     As the morning unfolds I remain in the chair.  I do not lie down to nap.  I watch through the window and when the time comes the car rolls in slowly.  It parks but no one gets out.  Several minutes pass before a back door opens.  A woman gets out and holds a tissue to her face.  She turns and stares down at a figure on the back seat.  She reaches in and strokes the figure as she dabs at her cheeks with the tissue.  A man gets out of the car and walks around to the woman.  He rests his hands on her shoulders and they stand there staring.  No one is in a hurry.

     The girls go out to the car with the stretcher.  They will not move in until they are asked to.  After a while the man nods to them.

     As they come through the door the girls handle the stretcher with great care.  Upon it lies a boxer with rust-colored fur and legs that have weakened over the years.  She struggles to breathe.  She does not lift her head.  The woman places her hand on the boxer's chest as they move away from the scale and down the hall.  The door to the exam room closes quietly.

     The doctor prepares and heads in.  His feet move slowly.  There is no smile around his eyes.  After a few minutes the man comes out of the room.  He walks to the water cooler right next to me.  His hands shake as he fills a cup.  I look up at him with all my might as he stares out the window.  He shifts from side to side and holds his breath.  He tries not to let it out.

     When he notices me he sits down by my side.  I turn to him and lean in.  Hestrokes my back, gently at first, then firmly, over and over.  I move a little closer as he pets me.  I am here for him.  After a while he stops and puts his head in his hands.  He takes deep, uneven breaths.  I lean against him gently.  He begins petting me again and I rub my head against his hand.  His breathing calms as we sit together. 

     The man gets up and goes outside.  He stands by his car.  I jump down from the chair and move down the hallway to tend to the woman.  I sit outside the exam room and listen. 

There it is.  I can hear it.

     Above the doctor's hushed instructions and the boxer's labored breaths and the sobbing and the whispers I can hear it.  It is strong and powerful and clear.  It is the loudest sound in the room.

The sound is love.

     Love sounds like uncontrollable laughter and calming waves.  It rings like church bells on Christmas Eve and the doorbell when your best friend surprises you.  It sings like unexpected good news or the rain falling when the sun is out.  It's as large as a symphony or a sky full of fireworks, yet it is soft and warm and gentle too.  It is there in that room, wrapped around every memory and hug that's been shared.  It surrounds every look, every touch and every minute they have spent together.

     I close my eyes as the exam room door opens.  Love washes over me with a warm caress.  I thrill in the moment.  The doctor comes out.  Soon the woman comes out too.  I stare up at her from my spot.  Her face is red and her eyes are puffy.  She continues to sob as she walks quickly down the hall.  She still holds the tissue to her face.

     I run after her, as the sound of love spills into the hallway and fills every space.  I hope she can hear it too.  I stop in the lobby just inside the door and watch as the woman goes out to the man.  He turns to her and they embrace as she continues to cry.

     The man and woman must go home without the boxer.  Their pets' spirit will find its place in heaven.  I will stay by the door for the rest of the day.  And the love will remain in the minds and hearts of all three of them--as it has always been.