Thoughts...
There's something haunting and painful about watching someone else's grief. It's almost as acute as suffering the grief yourself...
Have you ever noticed how every human emotion, especially the bad ones, seem magnified in animals? What makes it that way? Is it the purity and simplicity of the grief or pain of fear? The utter honesty and lack of decorum?
At Wildwood, we had 2 quails. The male died a few days ago. His mate was crying and calling for him today. It rips into you, and I can't figure out why.
Maybe it was the helplessness I felt as an observer: when a person's in pain, we know how to help, through a hug or kind words. When an animal's in pain, we don't know how to ease it. We do what we can, but we don't know if we're helping.
Maybe it was the strength and purity and simplicity of the cry. It was almost like she was asking where he was, what we;d done with him. And he had been mean to her. He had bitten her and hurt her. But she's still devastated. Is there a lesson to learn from them?
Have you ever noticed how every human emotion, especially the bad ones, seem magnified in animals? What makes it that way? Is it the purity and simplicity of the grief or pain of fear? The utter honesty and lack of decorum?
At Wildwood, we had 2 quails. The male died a few days ago. His mate was crying and calling for him today. It rips into you, and I can't figure out why.
Maybe it was the helplessness I felt as an observer: when a person's in pain, we know how to help, through a hug or kind words. When an animal's in pain, we don't know how to ease it. We do what we can, but we don't know if we're helping.
Maybe it was the strength and purity and simplicity of the cry. It was almost like she was asking where he was, what we;d done with him. And he had been mean to her. He had bitten her and hurt her. But she's still devastated. Is there a lesson to learn from them?