Aug 162012
YOU MAY HAVE SEEN THIS STORY ALREADY, but if you haven’t here it is again. It’s a simple story. The tale of a man—John Unger— and his (rescued) dog—Schoep— now almost 20, approaching the end of his life enveloped in the loyal love of his human companion. In a world so brimming with hatred, institutionalized exploitation, selfishness, and suffering, this kind of story reminds us that decency and kindness are not yet entirely gone from the human experience. Love does not conquer death, or does it? I’d like to think it does.—PG
PS/ We apologize for the commercial garbage that accompanies the video.
Let’s keep this award-winning site going!
| Yes, audiences applaud us. But do you?If yes, then buy us a beer. The wingnuts are falling over each other to make donations…to their causes. We, on the other hand, take our left media—the only media that speak for us— for granted. Don’t join that parade, and give today. Every dollar counts. |
|---|
| Use the DONATE button below or on the sidebar. And do the right thing. Even once a year. |
Use PayPal via the button below.
THANK YOU.
QR Code - Take this post Mobile!
Use this unique QR (Quick Response) code with your smart device. The code will save the url of this webpage to the device for mobile sharing and storage.
4 Responses to “No News Beat: Man Loves Dog; Dog Loves Man. Just magnificent.”
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
Pure love captured in These are the moments with our companions that we cherish and miss most deeply for they are the outcome of complete trust.
Despite many wonderful and compassionate people, in the USA 5 million healthy, homeless dogs are put to death every year. In India it is against the law to kill a healthy dog for any reason. This legislation can be attributed to a more benevolent religious view of animals.
Are you familiar with the story of Yudhisthira? Taken from the Mahabharata, it reflects the importance of compassion, even over obedience to god… so unlike the semitic religions, where animal lives may be and are sacrificed for the glory of god…
YUDHISTHIRA: COMPASSION OVER OBEDIENCE
“Questioning Abrahams’s choice: At this point, let me commit the blasphemy of questioning the propriety of Abraham’s actions. I hope rational minds will not condemn me for doing so. If the relevant section of the Bible (Genesis 22:01-22:13, reproduced below) is read carefully then one sees nowhere that God asked Abraham to sacrifice a ram instead. He just relieves Abraham of his command to sacrifice his child (Genesis 22:12). It is Abraham’s own choice to go ahead and kill the ram (Genesis 22:13). Why was that justified? It is not that some sacrifice or the other had to be performed. Was it right of Abraham then to unnecessarily take the ram’s life?
One is reminded of the story of Yudhishthira and the dog, in Yudhishthira’s last days, in the epic Mahabharata. The Pandavas renounce their kingdom and the worldly life to spend the twilight of their lives roaming around in the forest. Sahadeva, Nakula, Arjuna, and finally Bheema fall dead one by one. A dog joins Yudhishthira to keep him company in his wanderings. At the gates of heaven, Yudhishthira is asked to enter but without the dog, who is not allowed inside. Yudhishthira refuses the offer to enter alone, his conscience not allowing him to accept the prize of heaven at the cost of abandoning his faithful companion. Seeing his fidelity even to such a mute and non-human companion, and his sacrifice in refusing what a lifetime of walking the right path had earned him, God is pleased and reveals the true identity of the dog — it is none other than Dharma, come to subject Yudhishthira to his final test of character. Yudhishthira is allowed inside.
How devoutly it is to be wished that Abraham would have replied similarly. I do not think that the all-merciful and just God would have found his refusal objectionable at all. Millions of innocent animals the world over would have been spared the slaying at the hands of man; children would have been more sensitized to the sanctity of life; and less blood would have been split in the name of religion.
For my own part, I must say that if anyone were to ask me to sacrifice another’s life to prove my dedication to God, I would refuse. I would commit the sin of not proving my dedication to God sooner than committing the sin of taking away another’s life and thus showing total disrespect to the giver of life Himself. My children’s lives may be more dear to me than my own, but they are not mine to take away. I should give up my life to protect theirs, not take theirs away to demonstrate my devotion to anybody, even God. There I differ with Abraham in the choice he made five thousand years ago — I would consider it a transgression of my privileges if I were to agree to offer my son’s life. However, Abraham’s choice was different and presumably dictated by his times.” It was written by Dr Ranjit Konkar — Winter 1997 -of Beauty Without Cruelty India
Abrahams choice was dictated by a model of compassion which allows for the slaughter of animals to meet a human need. In this case the need
The purity of an animal’s love and devotion gives us more than we can ever give them back. But this guy comes close. What a dear soul he is. Love his tenderness and his willingness show that vulnerability, in a world where we have to put up a cool, if not cold front just to get through much of the time.
I wonder if this person who is truly compassionate to his dog is a vegetarian/vegan, or does he limit his compassion to non-food animals. There is so much confusion in cultures that subscribe to dominion. One animal is cherished, while another is consumed. That is not to condemn the individual in this video, but a value system so fraught with moral ambiguity.