AR-News: (MI) Give free rein to humane instincts

[Animalara2003 at aol.com]

By Deb Price / The Detroit News 
Paralyzed by fear, the little creature crouched on the centerline of the 
two-lane road. Cars zipped by in both directions, coming perilously close to its 
perfectly still nose and tail. 
Now, if this weird holiday saga were a fable instead of a true account, I 
might cast a more clearly sympathetic character in the lead role. Perhaps the 
creature about to be fatally squished would be a squirrel and bring 
warm-and-fuzzy-tailed associations to mind. 
Or, since mice seem to have excellent PR agents these days, maybe it would be 
mouse. Or, I could blur the issue of identity by saying only that it was a 
rodent. 
My spouse Joyce's first thought was that, sadly, whatever it was, it was 
already dead. But then why was it still sitting up, she wondered. As she passed 
by, she saw a whisker twitch. Running late to meet me for a movie, she drove on 
half a block, sickened by the certainty that the terrified animal would be 
killed within seconds. 
Then, obeying her heart instead of her wristwatch, she whipped the car 
around, jumped out, scooped up the little creature with a newspaper, and slid it 
into a tiny cookie box, emptied for the emergency. Dissatisfied, Joyce quickly 
bought a 12-pack of sodas, dumped the cans into the car and put the dazed animal 
(plus a chocolate cookie) into the carton and taped it shut -- except for air 
holes, of course. 
"Now let me make sure I've got this right," I said in disbelief when Joyce 
finally arrived downtown. "You rescued a baby RAT and have it in a Pepsi box. 
And I'm not supposed to believe that while we're inside watching a movie, it's 
going to gnaw out of the carton and chew up the car's upholstery?" 




full story:

http://www.detnews.com/2003/editorial/0312/01/a11-338111.htm

"To cherish what remains of the Earth and to foster its renewal is our only 
legitimate hope of survival." -Wendell Berry 
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