Valuing all creatures’ rights

I am a new dog owner, having taken in a scared and abused Canaan-mixed puppy several months ago.

We are caring for her in the best way we know, providing safety, love and medical care.

Having owned a cat for 10 year or so, however, has given me first-hand experience with the depravity of society regarding the treatment of animals. Cats in the neighbourhood were sometimes victims of attacks by children, at times encouraged by parents.

Hatred, like racism, is a learned behaviour, and what I have witnessed since owning this dog is, I believe, a snapshot of an attitude that is held by many.

There is an innate hatred and misunderstanding of the sanctity of God’s creatures. There is an attitude of superiority that is professed in the most brutal of ways. Dogs get poisoned and shot in some of our most “progressive” Amman neighbourhoods.

In the past few weeks, we have had gangs of neighbourhood children throw rocks at our dog, throw garbage into our yard, yell curse words at us when we walk her down the street, and even try to throw fireworks at her.

I wonder what all of the so-called faithful who read Surat Al Kahf every Friday think of the “Story of the Cave”, where the companions’ most faithful dog guarded them as they slept.

Was this dog a cursed creature? When the companions were awakened, did they hurl rocks at their dog or kick it in the head?

Just last night outside City Mall my family saw a mother and father stand and watch as their son threw rocks at dogs.

The complacency I witness to these abuses is almost too much to fathom. Modern psychology teaches us that one of the first warning signs of being a psychopath is documented cruelty to animals. Is our society raising a generation of psychopaths?

As human beings, regardless of faith, our treatment of living things defines our humanity.

The hypocrisy of those who profess to be walking the path of righteousness, though, is painfully all too real when it comes to valuing the rights of animals.

Jennifer Suleiman,

Amman